Family Ties
by wildbats
Summary: A sequel to Lust for Blood. Greg deals with a lot personal stuff and gets caught in the current rash of cases Catherine has been working on. The crimes all seem to be related with people who have ties to mob families. Will Catherine be a target?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N-Well I am back and with a sequel to Lust For Blood. So this story can be read on it's own, as I do recap a lot of what happened in the last story. This one will get a bit steamier with the relationship between Catherine and Greg. I probably will not be updating this one as frequently as I have less writing time, but I will try my best. Hope you all enjoy. _

* * *

It was a rare rainy night in Las Vegas. The tourists scrambled for cover on the strip as the rain came down heavily. He gazed out the window as the casino lights flashed by. It felt great just being able to see the city so alive even in the rain. 

"Are you okay? You've have not said much of anything since we headed out." The dark haired Texan, Nick Stokes drawled out as he looked over at his partner in the passenger seat.

Greg Sanders flashed a smile in Nick's direction. "It just feels great to be out on a case again. It seems like forever since I have been able to go to a crime scene. I'm just absorbing the sights and the sounds again."

Nick chuckled a bit. "Well it is nice to have you back out in the field, Greggo. And it has been awhile, but everyone just wanted to make sure you were well enough to be back."

Greg rolled his eyes at Nick, then turned back to look out the window. "I know, but I was getting extremely restless the last two weeks. I am just glad Ecklie and Grissom both decided it was okay for me to be back out here."

Nick glanced over at Greg again. He knew that there was one person who thought that Greg needed a little bit more time before being back in the field.

"Um, so how are things with you and Catherine," he asked him, knowing it still was awkward for any of them to talk about the relationship between the two co-workers.

Greg continued staring out the window, sighing but not saying anything right away.

Nick decided to respond to Greg's silence. "You know, she is just concerned for your health. She saw you almost get killed twice. She sees you more then we see you. She can judge how your recovery is doing better than any of us."

"I know," Greg replied in almost a whisper. He had argued with Catherine prior to leaving for work that evening on going back to work in the field. She knew he was still in some pain and was still taking his pain medication. She felt he should spend at least one more week staying at the Crime Lab working inside before going out to scenes. He argued that his last crime scene was unusual and that it is not everyday a killer is still on the scene waiting to take out a CSI. She knew he was right, but she still worried about him as he left to go to a simple armed burglary at the Wild West Casino.

Nick let it drop for now as he pulled the Black Denali into the parking lot of the casino. Greg grabbed his kit out of the back seat and waited on Nick before walking into the casino.

Detective Vega met them in the lobby and filled them in on the details on the way up to the room.

"Roger Watson had won $75,000 at the black jack table earlier this evening. He went up to his room to enjoy his winnings by ordering a bottle of champagne and a nice steak and lobster dinner. When room service came to the door, well let's just say it was not casino's regular room service guy. Watson said the guy came in wearing the appropriate attire and had a cart and everything, but once he was inside the room he pulled out a gun and other man came out from under the table cloth on the cart and robbed Mr. Watson at gunpoint."

"Is there security cameras on every floor," Greg asked him.

"Yes and the hotel manager is getting them for us."

Det. Vega led them under the police tape into the room where a man going into his late 40's sat on the edge of a bed, with his head in his hands.

"Mr. Watson, this is CSI Nick Stokes and CSI Greg Sanders, they are going to ask you a few more questions and collect evidence so we can catch the guys who took your winnings."

-----------

"Hey, Cath, are you okay over there," Warrick asked the strawberry blonde CSI as she stared at the pool of blood on the wooden floor near the foot of the bed.

Catherine Willows shook the images that flashed back into her head for a moment. She looked over at the tall, dark and handsome Warrick Brown, a man she once fancied but now that was over. Another CSI flooded her thoughts instead. "Yeah, sorry. Guess I am just tired, did not sleep well last night."

"Look if you are not sleeping well due to a certain someone and you doing stuff, I do not want to hear about it." Warrick held up his hands in a defensive manner, but had a grin on his face.

"Don't worry, I won't share that sort of stuff with anyone," she grinned back at him.

"Glad to hear. Now back to the case." Warrick bent down and took a swab of the blood.

Catherine took photos of the scene. No matter how often she saw death, the death of a child always got to her. This had been a family of three that had been slaughtered in their sleep on a rainy October night.

After Warrick swabbed several blood samples he started looking around the room. He went up to the dresser and examined the contents. "Looks like nothing was taken. Perhaps it was a hit of some kind on one of the parents. And they decided to take out the whole family."

Brass walked in the room. "It seems our male victim, Mr. Robert Orchid worked for a mob family up until this evening. So we might have a mob hit on our hands."

Warrick nodded. "Makes sense. There was nothing stolen by the looks of it. Looks like they just came in to finish off the family and that is it."

"I'll check more into his background and find out more details about his job." Brass left them to finish processing the scene.

Catherine went to the little boy's bedroom. The coroner had already taken the bodies away, but Catherine took photos of the boy's body in his bed, a bullet in his head. She only hoped the boy had been asleep when the bullet struck him dead. She had an urge to call Lindsay and make sure she was safe in bed, but she kept the faith that she was sound asleep, safely at home.

Back at the Las Vegas Crime Lab, Greg and Nick dropped off their evidence to the lab techs to process then headed to see Archie to watch the security videos.

"So this should be a pretty easy one to solve if the guys faces are caught on camera. The guy already gave us a pretty good description." Nick sat down next to Archie while Greg stood by his side.

"Well here they can be seen coming out of the elevator. These guys weren't too smart." Archie focused in on the man's face. He looked to be a teenager almost. Archie ran a face comparison scan to criminal profiles. It took a couple of minutes before it found a match. Archie pulled it up on the screen.

"Matthew Farnham, age 20. Previous arrest for a misdemeanor of possession of a gun. Served 18 months for burglary. Just got out 3 weeks ago. Guy did not waste much time, did he," Greg said.

"Now we just have to figure out who his partner is," Nick said as he watched the rest of the video. The accomplice was never seen on the video.

After their time with Archie, Nick and Greg headed over to the break room for some coffee. A few minutes later Catherine walked in with Warrick. Catherine immediately spotted Greg and was glad to see him not looking tired.

Greg saw her and gave her a slight grin. She felt a wave of relief knowing he did not seem to still be mad at her for her overprotective nature of him. He had been through too much in the last year with the beating and the civil trial, then to Tyler Renning who most recently scarred him badly. He still had trouble sleeping some days due to nightmares, but since Tyler's death they had lessened.

"So I hear you two had a murdered family that might be mob related," Nick spoke up as Warrick grabbed a soda out of the vending machine.

"Yeah the parents and their 8 year old son. Seems the father had the mob ties. Brass is looking into it further," Catherine replied as she took a seat across from Nick.

Even though their co-workers knew they were in a relationship, Catherine and Greg remained completely professional while at work, except for the occasional looks they gave to each other. Ecklie frowned upon the relationship but since they were subordinates did not make them change shifts, but simply would not allow them to work on the same cases together.

They talked some more about their cases. Greg was in the middle of telling them about their suspect when his cell phone went off playing the tune "Feel like making love". He grinned at Catherine as he answered his phone.

Catherine watched him as he excused himself to take the call outside of earshot in the hallway. She wondered who was on the phone that he did not want her to know about.

He came back in a couple minutes later and first thing Catherine noticed was how pale he looked and his expression was grim.

"Greg, what's wrong," She asked immediately after seeing his expression. She wondered what was said in this call that made him so glum.

He looked at her, his brown eyes serious. "That was my mother. My dad died last night from a stroke."

"Oh Greg!" Catherine immediately sprung up to give him a hug.

After Catherine finished hugging him, Nick came over and gave him a comforting pat on his shoulder. "Sorry man. That sucks."

Greg just nodded. He seemed in a bit of a daze since hearing the news.

_When Greg answered his phone and heard his mom's voice on the line calling at this hour he knew something was not right._

_"Hey Mom. What's going on," he asked her cautiously. He could hear her sniffle on the other end._

_"Your father passed away about four hours ago. They said it was a stroke. I couldn't bring myself to call you until now." He could tell now by her wobbly voice that she had been crying._

_A myriad of emotions ran through Greg's mind before he responded back to his mother. "I'll try to be there as soon as I can. I'll let you know when I will be getting in." _

_"Thank you, son."_

Greg broke out of his daze. "I'm going to go talk to Grissom now."

"Are you going to be okay," Catherine asked with concern on her face.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll let you know when exactly I am leaving."

She watched him walk away to Grissom's office in sadness.

Greg approached Grissom's door and made a slight knock on it before entering. Grissom looked up from his paperwork. "Can I help you, Greg?"

"I'm going to need some time off again. My father passed away," Greg said solemnly.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Greg. Of course you get bereavement time. Are you going to try to leave as soon as possible?"

"Yeah. I am going to check on flights in a couple minutes. Sorry you're going to be short a member again."

Grissom shook his head. "Don't be sorry. You have no control over what has happened. You just go be with your family."

"Thanks," Greg said before he left. Grissom stared after him as he slowly made his way out the door. Grissom could not believe the luck of his youngest CSI recently. The kid deserved a break but simply was not getting one.

Catherine later saw Greg in the locker room. He was sitting on the bench, his face in his hands.

"Greg?" Catherine said quietly not wanting to startle him. She thought he had been crying but when he raised his head he just looked sad.

"Hey," he just simply said to her. She sat down next to him.

"Did you book your flights," she asked him.

He was looking back down at the ground. "Yes, I leave in about 5 hours."

"Do you need anything from me," she asked him, not sure how she could help him at this point.

He shook his head woefully. "No, I just…I feel horrible. The last time I saw my dad was almost two years ago."

"But you kept in touch with them, right? Did you ever tell them about what happened to you?"

He shook his head again. "No, I never got around to it yet. And yeah we kept in touch, phone calls, emails, sometimes online video chat, but it is not the same as seeing them in person."

Catherine laid her hand over his gently. "Greg, I'm sure they knew how busy you are and how hard it is for you to get time away. They never come to see you?"

"No, mostly because they knew I was busy." He sighed.

She felt bad for him. Even though she did not know her real father, Sam Braun, all that long, she saw him a lot before he was killed. "Greg, don't beat yourself up about this. I am sure he would not want you to."

"Yeah but I deprived him and my mom of the ability to take care of me and even know that I was hurt. Heck, I nearly died and they had no clue. What kind of a son am I?"

Catherine hated seeing him beat himself up about this. The last year had been an emotional roller coaster for him. This was not helping. Her, being a parent, knew they would not want him to do this to himself. "Greg, look I know from experience with Lindsay that I would not want her to live with regrets like this. All your mom will care about is that you will be with her when she needs you most. So, go home, pack your stuff and prepare yourself mentally to see your mom and be there to comfort her when she needs it."

He looked over at her, her strawberry blonde hair straight, framing her beautiful face; her clear blue eyes stern and yet concerned. It was no wonder why he loved her. Her advice always helped him out. He gave her a slight smile. "You know I will miss you while I am gone."

She smiled back at him. "I'll miss you too, very much. Does your mother know about me?" Curiosity peaked in her eyes.

"Yes and no. She knows I am seeing someone, but I have not really told her who and that you were a co-worker," he said coyly.

"What have you told her exactly," she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Uh, that you were a really beautiful woman who've I've known for a few years now as a friend." He held a small grin on his face.

She sighed. "I guess that works." She looked at her watch. "Well you better get going and I need to get back to work." She turned around briefly to make sure no one was watching them, and then she turned back to him and gave him a slow kiss.

When she finished she gazed into his big brown eyes. "If you need to talk, call me anytime."

He nodded his head. "Thanks. I'm sure I'll take you up on that offer at some point. I love you."

He gave her a quick kiss before getting up.

"I'll see you in about a week then," she said to him as she headed back into the lab.

He watched her leave then, closed his locker with a sigh and left for home to pack a bag for his trip home.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N-Well here is chapter 2. It goes a bit deeper into what this story/case they will be working on is all about.

* * *

Greg rented a car for his stay at home. It was always weird going back to his childhood home. It was the only home he really remembered. They had moved there when he was 8 years old and stayed there ever since. 

As he drove down the tree-lined street, he had fond memories of his days as a child playing along the sidewalk with friends.

He pulled into the driveway of the cream colored, two-story home. He sighed as he grabbed his bag out of the trunk and made his way to the front door. Before he even got a chance to knock on the door, it opened. His mom came into view and approached him with a big hug. Greg dropped his bag and embraced her in return.

"I'm so glad you're here, son." She broke off the embrace and led him into the living room. Greg looked around as he walked in. Not much had changed since he was last home.

"Take a seat. How as your flight," his mother asked him. He sat down on the sofa and looked at his mom. The eyes he inherited from her looked tired and sad. Her short dyed, light brown hair was still styled nicely. Her blue blouse and black slacks looked properly pressed. Aside from her eyes, you would have never known she just lost her husband.

"It was fine. How are you holding up?" She studied her son. She noticed her son seemed to mature so much from the last time she saw him in person. He no longer had a crazy hairstyle like he had for so many years. She remembered the day he called her to tell her that he had been in the hospital after getting beat up while on the job. Then he mentioned that he was no longer in the lab, that for almost the last three years he had been working as a CSI. His father and her had been disappointed that he had not told them this prior, but once they found out more details of his beatings and how he saved a man's life they felt a new pride in their son.

"I'm doing as well as can be expected. His funeral will be Thursday at 10 am. There are still a few more things to arrange for it before he's…" she trailed off as tears came to her eyes. Greg took his mother's hand into his own.

"What exactly happened," he asked her. She shook her head.

"We were sitting in the family room, watching TV and I looked over at him and I thought he was sleeping, so I let him be. When I went to go to bed, I went to wake him to join me. That's when I found out he was not sleeping. He was dead. He had no pulse. I called 911 right away but I already knew." She cast her eyes downward as the tears fell.

Greg squeezed his mom's hand in comfort. "I'm so sorry, Mom."

She looked at her beautiful son, feeling better just with him there with her. "I'll be okay for now that you are here. How's work been," she asked him so she could change the subject.

He was not ready and it was not the right time to tell her all he had been through. He knew it would upset her more because he had not called them when he was hospitalized, so for the moment he would not tell her much.

"Work has been busy as usual. You know, catching the bad guys, getting the evidence against them," he said casually.

"What about the lady in your life?"

Again Greg was not going to give full details. "She's good. She sends her condolences. She lost her father last year, so she knows what it is like."

"Oh? How did he die," she pressed him on.

"Uh, he was shot and killed," he said hoping she did not want more details.

"Oh, how horrible. Did you all find out who did it?"

"Yeah he was caught on the scene."

"I see. So you really enjoy being a CSI more than being in the lab?"

He smiled genuinely. "Yeah I really do. I hated being stuck in that lab day after day just running tests while the others got to get out and really be out there to solve the case. Now I get to do that too. I enjoy my job." _ For the most part when not being stabbed or beaten_, he thought.

"Well, I guess if it makes you happy, that is all that matters. I've missed you something terrible though. Perhaps I will come visit you more often now."

"That would be fine." Greg tried to stifle a yawn but was unsuccessful.

"You usually sleep during this time of the day, don't you? Why don't you go up to your room and get some sleep. I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes, we can talk more over dinner."

Greg made his way up the stairs to his old room. His parents had turned it into a guest room mostly, but it still had a few mementos of his childhood in it. He smiled sadly at a photo of him with his dad on his college graduation day. His father was so proud that he had graduated with honors.

Greg set the photo back down on the dresser and opened his bag up on the bed. His back was hurting him some again. He figured carrying that bag around the airport did not help any. He pulled out his pain pills and took a couple in the palm of his hand. He grabbed his bottle of water he had carried with him and took the pills. He went into the bathroom to wash his face and caught his reflection in the mirror. He was surprised his mother did not comment about how tired he looked. He normally was asleep at this time and he was feeling it now. So he took his mom's advice and went to sleep for a few hours.

---------

Catherine dropped Lindsay off at her friend's house to stay for the night before she went into the Crime Lab. Greg had called her earlier to let her know he was doing okay. She was glad to know he sounded better.

She walked into the locker room where she found Nick standing at his locker. "Hey Nicky, what's up?"

Nick looked over at her. "You wouldn't be trying to hit on me while Greg's away, would you now?" He teased her.

"Oh Nick, Greg already knows about the two of us. No need to worry. He's not the jealous type."

"Glad to hear. Anyway, have you heard from him? I can't believe the luck of that guy lately. He's hit one incredibly bad patch of luck. Did you ask him if he broke any mirrors in the last year or two?"

Catherine grinned and shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps I should ask him. He called me and said he was at his parent's house. He sounded okay, considering."

Grissom came into the doorway. "Glad to find you two. I have a kidnapped child case for you two. Child, Tommy Schilling, age 11, was kidnapped from his bedroom at night. Parents heard the child scream and ran to the room only to see a black van speeding out of the driveway from his window. So I need you two to go over and see if you find any trace of the kidnappers."

"Has there been any ransom demands yet," Nick asked him.

"No, not yet but the family has connections and money so it is expected."

Catherine and Nick gathered their kits and got into the Denali and drove out to the house in Henderson.

It was a large, ranch style house. They had a gated entrance to the neighborhood but somehow the kidnappers managed to get through the gate without problem. As they pulled up to the house, Capt. Jim Brass waited outside for them.

"The Schilling's are inside in the living room. Before you go in, I got some interesting information on the family. They have connections to the Fratelli organization. I'm thinking someone is out messing around with the mob. The murdered family from the case you had last night, Catherine, and now a kidnapped son of someone connected to the mob? Sounds suspicious to me. The kid's bedroom is down the hallway on the right, 2nd door. He is their only child."

Nick and Catherine went inside the house, following Brass. He introduced them, and then Nick went down to the bedroom while Catherine went back outside to examine the outdoors, near the boy's bedroom window.

The boy was a football fan. He had posters up of the Denver Broncos and his bed comforter was all football themed. The bed covers were halfway pulled back. His bed had definitely been slept in.

Nick shined his flashlight on the ground by the window. There was a small amount of dirt tracked on the carpet. He looked up at the window and saw Catherine peering in at him from outside.

"The Schilling's said Tommy's window was cracked open on nights cooler like this to get some fresh air in his room. So that was easy for our kidnappers to get in." Catherine told him.

"How stupid are people nowadays leaving a first floor window open? I don't care how safe you think your neighborhood is," Nick said.

"True, but that's why many people live in these communities, they think they are safe."

"Yeah but determined criminals know how to try to get around safe. Anyway, I found some trace inside the window here. Most likely dirt from outside."

Catherine looked down with her flashlight. "We have a good shoeprint here. I'll take a cast of it, then fingerprint the window, but I am sure these guys wore gloves."

They finished processing the scene then headed back to the lab to turn that evidence in for processing.

Brass found them a couple hours later in with Mandy in the fingerprint lab. "Hey guys, the Schilling's received a call for ransom. The kidnappers are demanding $5 million from them. They called their home phone. We had placed a trace on it but it was placed from a payphone outside on the strip. No camera in sight to catch the person's image. Anyway they were giving them two hours to get the money then they were going to call back with more details."

"Do they have that much money," Nick asked Brass out of curiosity.

"Yes, they have plenty of money, so that won't be a problem. They said they are willing to pay to get their son back." Brass told them.

"So they knew they had plenty of money to start with. Maybe them being involved in mob dealings has nothing to do with it yet."

"Or it could have everything to do with it. Most people affiliated with the mob have lots of money. It's why they got into it most of the time," Catherine responded to Nick.

"Well, I guess we will not know for sure unless they tell us or we catch them."

---------------

Tommy Schilling sat on the cool cement floor of the basement. His hands tied in front of him. They told him if he stayed quiet and still, they would not hurt him and when his parents gave them their money, he could go back home.

They always kept their disguises on. They never let their guard down, even with an eleven-year-old child. Murder was easier but it did not pay, however overall it was more satisfying. For now they need to collect some money. These families that thought they were untouchable because of their ties, they would show them how venerable they all could be. They would get their revenge and show the mob that it was their turn to show who had the power.

It was time to call the Schilling parents again. He stood by the pay phone making sure of his surroundings, looking for any possible cameras. He slipped his gloves on and picked up the phone to dial their number.

When a male voice picked up the line, he immediately spoke. "I hope you have our money. Your boy is getting thirsty and hungry. We aren't no eatery here. If you don't want him to die from thirst and starvation, you will leave the money at midnight in an old abandoned house on NW 8th ave. If there is anyone but you within a 2-mile radius of the house you will never get him back. Once we have received the money we will call you with his location where you can pick him up. Good day Mr. Schilling."

He hung up the phone, smiling. He walked about 2 blocks where he met up with one of his partners. "It's done," he told the other man.

"Good, let's get back and get ready. Tonight's our first big payout." 


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N-Thanks for the reviews. Now this is a pretty emotional chapter. I am really proud of it. Hope you all enjoy it too. _

* * *

The next evening at the Las Vegas Crime Lab, Catherine, Nick, Brass, and Grissom all stood around the conference table contemplating the next move. They had spotted the location of the money drop off on the map. They had set up plain clothed officers out of sight near the home.

When Mr. Schilling dropped off the money, they were going to keep watch for the kidnappers to show up. They were waiting on word from officers on the scene to let them know when the drop off happened.

At 5 after midnight they got the call saying the drop off happened. They money was left inside the house. No one else but Mr. Schilling was seen around the area. Mr. Schilling went back home to wait for the next phone call.

A few hours passed and no one had seen anyone enter the abandoned house to get the money.

Brass' cell phone rang. He was in Grissom's office updating him on the stake out. Brass finished his call and looked mad. "Well somehow the kidnappers got the money. They just called Mr. Schilling and told them they would find their son outside a 7 Eleven on Lincoln street. They are headed over there now."

"So we need to go to that abandoned house and see how they got that money out from there without your guys seeing them," Grissom said to him.

"Yes we do. These guys are smarter than we thought."

Grissom sent Nick and Warrick out to the scene. "Hey Nick, come here and look at this." Nick came over to where Warrick was kneeling down.

"There seems to be a trap door in the floor here." Warrick shined his flashlight on what seemed to be a square outline cut into the floor. Nick drew out his gun as Warrick went to open the trap door. Nick pointed his gun down the dark opening. Warrick shined his flashlight down and saw a metal ladder down the opening.

"You or me?" He asked looking at Nick, gesturing who should go down.

Nick looked at him wearily, not wanting to really go underground. "You can go if you want."

Warrick realized he probably was the better choice in this instance, so he drew out his own gun and prepared to go down the hole.

As he reached the bottom, he shined his flashlight around. There was a long dark corridor ahead of him. He yelled back at Nick above. "I'm going to go down. I'll keep my radio open for you."

"Okay, be careful." Warrick gave thumbs up to Nick then walked down the narrow corridor. He kept walking what seemed like miles to him, until he came to the end where another ladder was embedded in the rock. He radioed Nick to let him know what he was doing.

When he approached the latch, he had his gun ready. He opened it up and found himself in the middle of a dirt road. He came out and looked around. He could see some homes about a mile away with the rising sun. He walked a little until he found a road sign. Then he called Nick. "Hey, meet me on NW 78th street. I think it is about a half mile away going east I'd say."

Nick came over in the Denali a few minutes later. He got out and met Warrick where he stood. "So this is fascinating. No wonder no one saw anyone enter the house to get the money. They traveled through this tunnel."

"How the hell did they know about this? It is not new," Warrick said.

Nick shrugged. "Beats me, but they are smooth in finding it and using it. And they left the bag that held the money behind so they had their own."

Warrick studied the dirt road. "There are some tire tracks here we might be able to use. I'll get these."

It was late morning by the time Warrick and Nick got back to the lab with all their evidence. They met up with Catherine in the hallway.

"The boy was dropped off where they said they would leave him. He was scared, but overall he was fine. He gave us descriptions, but we have a feeling our guys were in disguises the whole time he saw them. We have not found any matched to the descriptions so far," she told them.

They filled her in on their finds before heading home for the day. Catherine wondered how Greg was doing, knowing his father's funeral was that day.

Greg and his mom were quiet on the drive home from the graveyard. It was tougher than Greg thought it would be to know he would never see his father again.

He stayed strong for his mother, even though inside he wondered why the world seemed to be against him. He wanted to yell, be angry, be upset but he held it in. He needed to talk to Catherine, the one person who he could explain himself to without questions. But he knew she was probably busy or most likely sleeping at his hour and did not want to bother her.

He was in his old bedroom, changing his shirt when his mother walked in. "Greg. I just wanted to tell you…" she stopped when she saw the long scars running down his back.

"My God, Greg," she gasped. Greg quickly spun around and realized that his mother had just seen his back. He quickly threw on his t-shirt to cover up. He tried to act like nothing happened.

"What did you want to tell me?" Even as he asked, he knew his voice sounded shaken. She stared at him in disbelief. She had seen his scars. There was no escaping it, he knew by her horrified expression.

"What happened to you, Greg? What have you not told me?" She came closer to him, obvious concern on her face.

He felt himself start to tremble under her penetrating stare. How could he tell her all he went through, just after burying her husband; his father? He knew why he never told them before because he was scared to relive it with someone who was not there at the time when it happened.

"It's nothing, really." He tried to sound casual about it, but he knew it was not working on her.

Pamela Sanders could see her son was troubled by whatever it was that caused those scars. It had already been a rough day for her, but something horrible happened to her son, more than just the beating. Something more recent she could tell by the freshness of the scars.

"Greg, sit down. Let me see your back again." She calmed her voice as much as she could as she sat down on the bed.

Greg sat down slowly next to her. He did not want to tell her. He did not want her to worry about him. He did not want her to be mad at him for not telling her all this before. He was scared of disappointing her.

"Greg, talk to me." She interrupted his thoughts. He felt the anxiety building up inside his chest.

"It's nothing, really," he said again in a small, almost childlike voice, staring down at the carpeting.

She turned his chin towards her. She looked desperately into his pained eyes. "You're my son. I love you. You're all I have left now. Tell me what happened, please."

He knew she would understand, but it still scared him to tell her, but he would try for her sake. He took a deep shuddering breath before he started.

"Catherine and I were working on a serial killer case. The murderers slashed their victims bodies before cutting their throats." He recognized the realization in her eyes of what he was telling her, but he continued on.

"We captured one of them, but the other was still loose and killed again. We were working the scene and Catherine left the room for a couple minutes to question the motel personnel. I was left in the room alone to finish processing evidence when the murderer returned to the scene. He tried to drug me, but I fought him off at first. But then as I tried to escape he stabbed me in my right shoulder." He watched the slight flicker of shock in her eyes, but she remained still overall, listening intently.

After a pause he continued. "He had me overpowered at that point. He tied my hands and waited until Catherine came back. He held the knife to my throat, threatened to kill me unless she dropped her gun."

His mother finally interrupted. "So she dropped her gun then?"

He shook his head. "No, I told her not to."

She looked at her son, incredulously. "Greg, why would you do such a thing? He was threatening to kill you."

"I did not want to see her hurt. If she had dropped it then, we both would have ended up dead. She has a daughter to think about."

She studied her son for a moment and then realized it. "This is the woman you've been telling me about. The one you're in love with."

A tiny smile came to his face. "Yes, she is."

She nodded her head in understanding. "So what happened then?"

The little smile disappeared as he went to continue on. "She did not drop her gun. Tyler was not pleased that I coaxed her not to."

"Tyler," his mother questioned.

"Uh, Tyler Renning, the murderer. He had a smaller knife on him. He showed me his displeasure by running that knife down my back."

"Greg," his mother gasped as she laid her hand over his.

He just shook his head. "Let me finish," he said quietly. He wanted to tell it before all the reality of what happened crashed into him again. "I continued begging Catherine to not give up her gun. I know it was stupid but at the time it was how I felt. Tyler got angrier with me and I ended up with another slice down my back, ending with another stab wound in my lower back. It was not until I basically passed out that Catherine gave up her gun."

His mother had tears rolling down her cheeks for her son. She could not believe he had been through all of this and never told them.

"The next thing I remembered was seeing Tyler by Catherine, holding the knife to her. He had left me in the corner, passed out. But then I saw Catherine's gun near me on the ground. I managed to get it and shot him in the leg. After that my own memory is still fuzzy. I know it slowed him down and Capt. Brass came inside and shot Tyler. Basically next thing I really remember is waking up in the hospital."

"How long were you in the hospital," she asked him, wondering how many times she talked to him and he lied to her.

"It was about two weeks, then I was out of work about another two weeks, recovering. I was at work for a week when Tyler escaped from a jail transport van. He apparently stalked Catherine and I. He broke into her house and tied her up and lured me there using her cell phone to text me. When I got to her house and saw her, I knew something was up. Tyler and I fought. He managed to stab me in my side. I had to have my spleen removed, but I stopped him with his own knife. I killed him in self defense."

"My God, Greg! I can't believe you told us none of this. Were you going to tell me if I had not seen your back?" She was visibly upset. She could not believe he had been through so much and she knew nothing of it.

Greg felt his barrier start to crumble down. "I was. I was waiting for the appropriate time."

She was a bit angry. "And when was that going to be? In another 6 months or maybe longer."

Greg lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I know I should have told you sooner. I've just been having a hard time dealing with this myself. I didn't want to worry you on top of it."

She sighed. "You didn't want us hovering over you."

He buried his face in his hands. This was going from bad to worse. He was barely holding in his emotions anymore. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm a horrible son."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, you are not. I'm sorry we coddled you so much when you were young that now you are afraid to tell us anything."

The both remained silent for a moment. "Lift up your shirt so I can see your back more closely."

He lifted his head, his eyes baring his confusion and pain. "Why?"

"Please, I want to see what was done to you. I want to see the scars my son now bares."

Greg nodded slightly and lifted off his shirt. The long scars were still pink, showing they were recent. A more raw scar was on his left side. She guessed from the stab wound that cost him his spleen. She placed her hand gently on top of his right shoulder scar. He flinched at her touch. She quickly withdrew her hand.

"Did I hurt you," her voice fearful she had.

"No, I'm just sensitive to touch mostly."

"Do you still have any pain?"

"Sometimes it's worse than others, mostly my lower back. I had some nerve and muscle damage done."

She stared at his back, felling a surging ache of sadness for her son. Her only child so damaged now. Tears swam to her eyes. "I wish your father and I could have been there to help you get through this. You know we would do anything for you." Her voice trembled as she spoke.

Greg pulled his shirt back down and turned to face his mom, his eyes flickering with emotion. "I messed up. I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say." He wanted to curl up into a ball and forget everything at that moment.

She noticed he was trembling and any bit of anger that she felt completely left her. "So how long ago did all this happen?"

"A little over two months ago is when it all started." He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. He quickly tried to bury them in his pockets, but his mom already noticed.

She took a good look at her beautiful son sitting before her. She really noticed how tired he looked now and how much pain and fear showed on his face. She could not stand seeing him tormented like this.

"I'm sorry, Greg. You've been through hell and I'm making it harder on you. I love you and I am so, so sorry this happened to you. You did not deserve this. You are a good boy."

He looked at her, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Come here," she said, now crying for her son, opening her arms to embrace him.

He accepted her embrace greedily, needing to feel his mother's forgiveness and love so badly at that moment. He broke down crying in her arms, not able to hold back his emotions anymore.

She held him tightly, letting him let it all out. She knew part of it was also grief for loosing his father. He had not shed a tear since he had come home. He had been bottling it all up.

After a couple of minutes Greg finally pulled back. He had a small smile on his face. "Thanks, I guess I needed that. I just wish dad was here too." His smile faded.

"I know you do. So do I. He should have had many years left, but you know he always had some health problems," she said sadly.

"Yeah, I know. Wish I had a chance to say goodbye or something before…" he trailed off in thought.

"It was sudden. I did not have a chance either. But he knew you loved him. He was actually really proud of the fact you followed your heart and became a CSI, even with the higher risks. You've always had goals and set out to accomplish them and been successful in doing so."

She tousled his hair a moment. "You've also always liked to keep changing your look. I see you went back to shorter hair again."

"Yeah, well I have to keep it somewhat civilized looking now that I work in the field," he said sheepishly.

"Well it looks good," she smiled at him.

"Thanks," he grinned back, feeling a lot better now that all the tension was lifted off his shoulders.

"So did this Catherine take care of you when in recovery?"

He smiled. "Yes, she did. She let me stay at her house for 2 weeks while I got back on my feet. I, uh, had to use a cane for awhile to keep steady."

"I see," she said quietly. He could see her disappointment still there that she had not been able to help him. The guilt crept back and he lowered his head. She might forgive him but she would not forget he did not tell them.

After an odd moment of silence, she spoke up. "Look why don't we go out to dinner and talk some more."

"Sure, that sounds fine. Just give me a few minutes."

"Yeah, no problem. I have something I need to do anyway first," she told him and then left him alone in his room.

He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He needed Catherine at that moment; only she was not there for him. He just needed that support that she gave him through everything. He looked at his cell phone and an idea came to him…

* * *

TBC

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	4. Chapter 4

A/N-Thanks for the comments...keep them coming. This is a steamy chapter, the main reason for the M rating.

* * *

Greg knew talking to Catherine would help calm his nerves down some. So he dialed her number on his cell phone and waited for her to answer. 

"Hello," she said groggily, not even looking to see who was calling.

"I'm sorry. I hate that I woke you up. I just really needed to hear your voice."

She suddenly realized it was Greg and she sat up in bed. "What's wrong? How was the funeral?"

"The funeral was, well okay, I guess. It was weird. I dunno, but…" He was jittery again.

"My mom saw my back. She walked in while I was changing my shirt. She freaked out and well so did I. I felt like total crap for having never told her. She was really upset about it. I lost it. I was shaking and all."

She could hear the stress in his voice. "Well, what happened? Are things okay between you two?"

"Yeah, I think overall, but I know it hurt her and at the worst time. We're going out to dinner to talk more. I just hope I don't lose it again."

"What exactly do you mean by 'lose it'?" Catherine asked in wonder.

"I cried like a freakin' baby."

The way he said it made her giggle some.

"Are you laughing at me in my time of need," he asked in sudden amusement.

"Come on Greg. She's your mother. There is nothing to be ashamed of in crying in front of her. Now if it was Nick, I might say something, but I am sure she's seen you cry before."

Greg sighed. "I guess you are right, but I still felt foolish. I thought I was over it."

"Greg, you just buried your father today. I'm sure your emotions were raw anyway." She wished she could be there for him, physically.

"Yeah, you're right, once again and don't rub it in again," he smirked to himself.

"No, I'll wait until you come home to rub it in. It puts you in a mood, if you know what I mean," she said with a snicker.

He laughed. "Okay, I'll let you do it when I get home." He felt better already. She was just what he needed and that was why he called her.

"Well, I better get going. I don't want my mom getting anymore ticked off than she already is."

"Things will be fine, I am sure of it. I'll see you in a couple of days, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I need to help pack up some of my dad's stuff from his office."

"Just don't hurt yourself. Remember the doctor…"

"Said to take it easy still. Yes, I know already," he said, finishing her sentence, hearing it from her for the hundredth time.

"I'm sorry. I just worry about you. I don't want to have to visit you in the hospital again." She teased.

"Yeah, yeah you know you like those hospital gowns on me," he teased back.

"Actually, I do. It gives a nice view of your cute butt." She laughed when she heard him grunt in response.

"Okay seriously, I need to go now. Have a good night at work and you be careful too. You're not the only one who worries," he told her.

"Thanks and I will. Love you, bye!"

"I love you too. Goodnight." He smiled as he closed his phone. Now he was up to going out to dinner with his mother.

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He looked at the pile of money on the desk. They knew the serial numbers were probably all recorded, but they had no intentions of putting the money to use right away and getting caught. They had a couple more jobs on their list before their main one and then they would be done. The next plan would be executed that evening.

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"Warrick and Catherine, we have a missing young woman, the daughter of Alexander Porretta. He is an accountant for the Carmelos family. So it is possibly another mob related kidnapping, even though it has not been confirmed she has been kidnapped yet." Grissom handed the paperwork to Catherine, who studied the girl's photo. She was a pretty, auburn haired girl about 18 years old.

"She was last seen leaving her dorm at UNLV," Brass said as he joined the group of CSI's.

"How long has she been missing now," Warrick asked Brass.

"Just under 36 hours, but no ransom calls, so she could have just taken off, but her parents say that would be very unlike her."

Catherine and Warrick went to the girl's dorm room to see if anything seemed off. The girl had her own dorm room, so they had no roommate to ask questions to.

Her room seemed like any normal college girls dorm room. Nothing struck them as unusual or gave clues to her disappearance.

They were just leaving the campus when Brass called Catherine. "We found her, dead. Her body was found in a dumpster at a construction site this morning as the crew came in. Meet me at the scene." He told her where it was before letting her off the line.

"Well, looks like we found her and she won't be able to tell us anything ever again," she said to Warrick as they got into their Denali.

A few hours later, they met up with Doc Robbins in the autopsy room. "C O D is single gun shot to the head," he said as they walked in and stood over the victim's body.

Warrick looked at her wrists. "Looks like she was tied up for awhile, abrasions on her wrists. Looks like she struggled to get free."

Doc Robbins nodded in agreement. "Yes, so it seems. Also notice these tiny marks on her neck?" He pointed to the spot where he meant.

"Stun gun," Catherine concluded.

"Yes, they probably used that to initially subdue her," Doc Robbins said.

"Three mob related crimes in a week and yet each one is slightly different. Is this a group working together or is it just coincidence?" Warrick wondered.

"Well you know Grissom does not believe in coincidences, so I am thinking they are related somehow." Catherine said to him.

"If they are, is it another mob family doing this to warn others," Warrick asked.

"Maybe, but the ransom kidnapping does not fit that theory so much. Maybe it is a rouge group that has been hurt by a mob faction and now they are just trying to show that the mob are not the only ones who can take people out and make demands."

"Yeah but this is all speculation. We really need some evidence but this group or person or whoever it is is smart and not leaving much to go on."

"Well, I did find some hairs on her clothes and sent them to Wendy. They did not look like they belonged to her. So maybe we will get something there," Catherine said.

They left Doc Robbins and headed over to Grissom's office to fill him in on their theories. Then they headed into the DNA lab to see if there were any results on the hairs.

Wendy informed them they were dog hairs, more specifically that of a Rottweiler. "The Porretta girl or her family did not own that type of dog. So maybe the murders kept a dog as a watchdog over their victim. It was something but still not much to go on. Tons of people own Rottweilers in Las Vegas."

Catherine went home from work frustrated. Since she was home late, Lindsay was already off to school and her mom was out for the day. Catherine wanted to take a nice long bath and then sleep. She just wanted to relax.

She dropped her keys on the kitchen counter and walked into the living room. She saw someone sitting on the sofa and nearly jumped out of her skin, not expecting anyone. She held her hand to her chest. "I should shoot you for scaring me to death!"

He smiled at her broadly. "Wanting me in the hospital again just to see me in that gown again. Huh?" He had a bemused smile on his face.

"Of course," she beamed. She came over as he stood up and hugged and kissed her.

"Wow, I missed you," he said, holding her tight, breathing in her scent.

She leaned against him, savoring his warmth. "You have perfect timing. How did you know I really needed you right now?"

He pulled away a little to look her in the eyes. "I can read your mind," he smirked.

"You wish! But seriously, I'm glad your home. How did the last couple of days go? We've been busy, sorry about not calling back," she said as she sat down on the couch with him.

"That's fine. I figured so much. It was fine. My mom and I are good. She knows all now."

Catherine's eyes opened wide. "All?"

He grinned. "Well not all in that sense, but she knows about us. She was a bit shocked by the age difference thing but once I told her how wonderful you've been with me, she was happy that I was happy."

"I'm glad to hear that. You look rested, actually," she mused.

"Yeah really? Well I did get to sleep more than normal and hardly had any nightmares, so that might be why," he shrugged.

"That and perhaps since she knows now, you do not have that stress anymore."

He rolled his eyes. "True."

He gazed at her and ran his hand through her hair. "Anything fun that I've missed at work?"

Catherine filled him in on the recent rash of crimes that had mob ties.

"Huh, that is odd, but to me it seems they might be connected too," he agreed.

"Yeah well I am sick of thinking about it. How about I just think about you and me, together," she grinned at him, running her hand up his thigh.

"Uh, whoa! Shouldn't we maybe move this into the bedroom in case Lily comes home?" Greg said quickly as she began to unbutton his jeans.

"Why, you scared she might walk in on us? I thought you liked to take risks, Greg," she purred as she started nibbling on his ear.

"Yeah, but…ohhh," he moaned as she found his flesh with her hands, warm and firm.

"Do you still think we should move," she whispered deeply in his ear.

He shook his head slightly. "No."

His mouth came down on hers, hot and possessive. His hands had already snaked to her shirt and started undressing her. His mouth moved down her neck. His hand curled around one mound as he moved his mouth to the other, tracing the curve with his tongue before kissing his way up to her nipple. He suckled her, his teeth nipping at the pink bud, pulling lightly. Her body writhed beneath him, her hand holding his head against her. Her breathing was shallow as his name escaped her lips in a whimper.

His mouth moved over to the other breast, giving it the same treatment, before venturing lower, circling her navel with his tongue. He lifted his face to look up at her, noticing the flush in her cheeks, the glazed look in her eyes, and smiled. His hand moved to the front of her pants, pulling at the three buttons down the front. His eyes roamed down her face, over her heated skin, noticing the goose bumps, and he knew he never saw anything more beautiful than her right then. She was there, with him, and they were together. That, to him, made him want her all that much more.

He leaned over, his hands grabbing the waistband of her pants, along with her panties, and stood back, taking in all of her. He was breathless. She was gorgeous and she was all his. His eyes moved up her body slowly, latching on to hers as he pushed his pants down his hips, along with his boxer briefs.

She admired his slim, yet firm body, with the scars that defined him now.

He smiled softly and moved over her, his lips finding hers instantly. Their mouths mated, lips, tongues, and teeth grinding hungrily against each other. Their hands explored each other frantically, wanting to feel each other everywhere. She reached down behind his back and squeezed his perfect round ass cheeks, causing his hips to buck forward, grinding his stiff member against her moist folds. Both of them groaned at the friction it caused.

He slowly entered her, their eyes glued to each other, each gasping at the feel of each other joined. They stayed that way, joined together intimately, and just reveled in the feel of each other for a few moments, loving the feeling of being joined.

* * *

Hope it was satisfying for you Catherine/Greg fans. :) More story to come... 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N-thanks for reading...

* * *

She sighed, listening to his heartbeat as she lay against his chest. Her fingers lightly lingering over the scar on his left side, where Tyler Renning had stabbed him on their last encounter.

"So you told your mom about this one too?" She asked him.

His eyes were closed, but he responded still. "Yes, I told her everything. It was easier once I started it poured out of me, what can I say."

"Well I would think it is good that you were finally able to open up to her. Do you think it was because your father was not there?" She asked him.

"I don't know, maybe. Either way I am glad it is done with. I also promised her I would tell her if anything happened to me again, right away and I mean it." He said opening his eyes up and looking at her.

"That's good to hear. I'm sure she will appreciate that," she smiled.

Greg looked over at the clock. "Won't Lindsay be home soon? We should probably get up."

She looked at the time too. "I guess you are right. She'll be glad to see you. She likes you hanging around."

He smiled. "I like her too, so the feeling is mutual."

Catherine sat up and started putting her robe on. "Well, I think she had a crush on you before, but she thinks it's cool we're dating now."

He sat up in bed. "Glad she is not the jealous type." He laughed.

She smiled at him. "Yeah good thing." She watched him as he put his pants on, looking at his scarred back. It was something she was still not comfortable seeing because she saw it happen to him and saw him suffer from it.

He noticed her staring at him out of the corner of his eye. He quickly grabbed his t-shirt and put it on, feeling uncomfortable still with them being seen, even though he knew she saw them all the time.

She recognized the expression on his face. "I'm sorry for staring. I was just trying to put myself in your mother's shoes, wondering what it had to be like for her to see what had happened to you. It had to be horrifying."

He frowned. "Yeah, I know. She touched my back and I flinched, you know how I am. She was petrified that she hurt me. I reassured her I was fine, just sensitive."

"How's your back today," she asked with concern.

He shrugged. "Fine today so far."

"So are you going back to work tonight?"

"No, I told Grissom tomorrow. But I need you to drop me off at my place on your way to work. I came straight here from the airport via taxi so I could surprise you," he grinned.

"Well I enjoyed the surprise and yes, of course I can drop you off at your place before I go to work."

"Thanks."

--------------

An hour and a half later, they were sitting at the dinner table with Lindsay and Lily, who had returned after her day out.

"So Greg, did Mom tell you I am applying for colleges already? I was thinking about trying Stanford, along with UNLV and USC. What do you think?" Lindsay asked him.

"Good choices and of course I am partial to my alma mater, Stanford. I think they would be honored to have you there. You can just tell them Greg Sanders sent you," he said with a wicked grin and then winked at Catherine, who was next to him.

Lindsay smiled back at him. "I'll be sure to do that if I end up there. I am still unsure of what I want to major in though."

"Well you don't have to make that choice yet, honey. You still have plenty of time." Catherine told her daughter.

They talked some more about Lindsay's future college plans before finishing up dinner. Then Catherine dropped off Greg at his place on her way into the lab.

---------------------

The shift was a rather quiet one for a change. No mob related murders or kidnappings took place. She and Warrick just worked a simple breaking and entering case.

After her shift, she saw Lindsay off to school and decided to stop by and see how Greg was doing. She had to knock on his door a couple times before he finally came. She did not want to use her key and sneak in. She always seemed to scare him. He was still a bit jumpy at times.

He opened the door. His hair was tousled, some light scruff on his face and he wore nothing but sweatpants.

"Were you sleeping?" She asked as she walked in.

He closed the door behind her. "Yeah I was. So what? I was tired and being off that week changed my sleep pattern somewhat."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know you're back to work tonight. You have to get back on pattern. You should take better care of yourself."

He frowned at her and then grabbed her hand and pulled her over to him. "Shut up," he murmured and then kissed her passionately.

After he stood back and had a huge grin on his face. "Now, Good morning, Catherine. How was your shift last night? Any big interesting cases?"

She pursed her lips, hands on her hips. "That was evil, but nice. Anyway, last night was slow compared to the last few days." She had told him all about the mob related cases the evening before on her way to drop him off at his apartment.

"Hmm, too bad. Maybe something good will come up tonight when I am back."

Catherine sat down on his sofa. He sat next to her. "I know you are totally into the mob related cases, but I am not so keen on them."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just can't help it. It's the geek in me that comes out," he shrugged with a smile.

She laughed. "It sure is, but I really enjoy that part of your personality."

Greg raised his eyebrows. "Really? So geeks turn you on?"

She smiled. "Not really, but in you it does." She kissed him lightly on his lips, her finger tracing down his chest.

"Hmmm, so I can geek out on you anytime and turn you on?" He asked as his hands crawled up her back, unhooking her bra.

She closed her eyes as his hands cupped her breasts. "Yeah, completely."

He grinned then started nibbling down her neck and collarbone, while unbuttoning her blouse and pushing it down her shoulders.

He stopped a moment and gazed at her.

"What?" She asked, noticing he stopped.

"I missed you this last week. There were times I really needed you, needed this, just to feel you."

She placed her hands on his face gazing deeply into his big brown eyes. "Well, you got me now." She drew him in for a kiss. "I do love you, Greg. I still can't believe I do."

He laughed. "I can't believe it most of the time either, but I am glad you do. I don't know where I'd be without you right now, if you had not been there for me during my recovery."

"You're a strong person, Greg. I am sure you would have been fine. You give me too much credit."

He shook his head. "No, I do not think I would be doing or I should say dealing with what happened as well as I am. The way I barely held it together with my mom; thinking of you being here when I got back pulled me through. You've been there when I had the nightmares and everything. I'd still be broken without you."

She smiled fondly at him. "I think you give yourself too little credit."

He shrugged. "Maybe, but I hope I can score some extra points with you now." He smiled mischievously.

"You can try," she teased, sliding her tongue over her teeth.

"You know I love a challenge, especially coming from you."

"Bring it on," she said to him with mischief in her eyes.

-------------------

Greg walked into the crime lab a few minutes early to catch up on things. He saw Sara first as he went into the locker room.

"Hey Sara, how are things?"

"Greg, you're back! How was the funeral? How's your mom doing?"

He shrugged. "The funeral was a bit tough but we got through it. My mom is doing well, considering."

"That's good to hear. Now no more of this taking time off, you hear! We miss you around here," she smiled.

"Trust me, I'm sick of missing so much work. I miss you all too."

"That's nice to hear. No more nonsense, you hear," Nick said as he entered the locker room, giving Greg a pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah sure. I purposely asked for all of this to happen to me," he said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Hey man. I am sorry. I did not mean anything by it." Nick put up his hands in defeat.

Greg sighed. "No, don't worry about it. I'm sorry. I know you didn't mean anything by it. Just a bit tense I guess."

Nick relaxed. "It's okay, G. You've been through a lot lately. I guess you have every right to be jumpy."

Greg glowered. He hated how he reacted to what Nick said. He knew they were all still treating him with kid gloves.

"I need to go check in with Grissom. I'll see you both later." Greg closed his locker and left. Sara and Nick exchanged concerned glances as they made there way out of the locker room themselves.

Greg found Grissom in the hallway as he went towards his office.

Grissom spotted Greg right away. "Greg, glad to see you back. Is your mother doing okay?"

Greg nodded a little. "Yeah, she's holding up pretty well, considering everything."

"By everything, does that mean your mom finally knows what happened to you?" Grissom knew Greg had not told his family anything about his stabbing.

"Yes, she sort of found out the hard way, well harder for me too. Anyway, she knows and I did promise to let her know from now on right away should anything happen," Greg said sheepishly.

"That is good to hear. So once Warrick gets here I have a case for you two to work on."

Warrick caught up with Greg, who was in the break room getting coffee. "Hey Greg, Grissom told me you had the details on our case. Nice to have you back, by the way."

"Thanks. Yes, I have the details. A DB found in the St. Andrews cemetery, go figure, but this person did not belong there. Vartaan will meet us at the scene."

Warrick and Greg got out of the black Denali and grabbed their kits. Detective Vartaan waited while the coroner assistant, David Phillips checked over the body.

"T.O.D I'd place at 3 hours ago. Gunshot to the head. Face is pretty much blown away," He said looking at the two CSI's.

"How many people have walked around here since the body was discovered?" Warrick asked Vartaan.

Greg was already following Warrick's train of thought. "I'll go and see if there are any decent shoeprints to get, but the ground is pretty dry and not going to leave much."

Warrick took photos of the body while Greg tried to recover any shoeprints. They finished processing the scene and headed back to the lab.

They dropped off what they collected and went to meet up with Doc Robbins to check on their victim.

"Your victim looks like he was shot with a sawed off shotgun at close range by the damage to the face. He's about 35 years old and has been shot before."

Greg and Warrick exchanged looks. "Really?"

"Yeah. Check this scar here on his abdomen. That is definitely a gunshot wound scar, not too old by the looks of it either."

"So perhaps someone who tried before unsuccessfully to kill him was successful this time," Greg said, with a slight questioning in his voice.

Warrick nodded his head. "Possibly. Anything else Doc?"

"I'll tell you more if I have anything later after I open him up."

Warrick and Greg said goodbye to Doc Robbins, then headed back to check on their evidence.

-------------------

He paced the floor, while his remaining partner watched him. "I still don't see why you had to do that."

The pacing man stopped and turned around to face the smaller man. His piercing blue eyes seared into the other man.

"He messed up yet again. That last girl was not supposed to die. He was always a risk factor and now I've eliminated that risk. I don't want anymore screw-ups. The next one we take we keep until we get our ransom demands and then we decide if we kill them or not. We do not just kill because that makes us just like them. We have to change the rules."

"Will, you do not want to get on my bad side right now, trust me." The larger man said.

"No, I don't. Sorry, Troy. You're right; he was stupid. We will stick according to plan from now on."

Troy smiled now. He was ready for his main prize. This one would ruffle a few more feathers than the others, but it was a risk he had to take. If they were successful here, their message would be taken as serious and no one would stop them then.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N--Don't be afraid to leave a review. I do not bite. :) Here is chapter 6.

* * *

"So how was your day?" Greg asked Catherine as she walked to her car.

She shrugged. "Rather uneventful. Yours?"

"Well, we had a DB that turned out to be Michael Patelli. Does that name ring a bell to you?"

Catherine thought for a moment. "Wasn't he involved in a shooting at the Rampart casino four years ago?"

"Yep, that's right. He worked there and one of his fellow co-workers shot him after they were in a heated argument. Both ended up getting fired, of course," Greg explained excitedly.

"Yeah it was a day shift case. I remember now hearing about it from Sam. Michael Patelli was really pissed because he was shot but still got fired, but I guess he started the whole fight."

"Yep and now someone did finish him off, used a sawed off shotgun and blew off his face."

"Ouch! Any leads?" She asked him.

"No, not yet anyway. Nothing has panned out," he frowned.

"Hey, can I ask you a favor? Changing the subject here."

"Yeah sure, what's up?"

"Can you pick up Lindsay from school today? I need to take my mother to the doctor for a simple procedure but she will not be able to drive afterward."

"Sure, I can do that." He mentally made a note to set his alarm for an earlier wake-up.

"So what are your plans right now?" She asked with a glint of mischief.

"Uh, I actually got to go to the doctor myself today. A follow-up of sorts," he said meekly.

"Ah, I see. Well, I guess I will see you later on this evening again at work then." She gave him a kiss before getting into her car to go home."

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Greg was very tired after his doctor's appointment. He managed to snag a few hours sleep before he got up again to pick up Lindsay for Catherine.

He drove up in front of the high school, where she stood waiting with some friends. She waved goodbye to her giggling friends and got into the car with Greg.

He smiled at her as she settled in the seat. "What are you laughing at," he asked her curiously.

"Oh just that my friends think you are cute," she grinned at him, pushing back a stray blonde hair from her eyes.

"Ah, nice to know I still can attract the young ones," he smirked.

She smiled back at him. She talked about her school day. Greg was use to hearing about all this now. He had been with Catherine for over two months and spent a good portion of that time at Catherine's house with Lindsay and Lily. He was basically becoming a part of the family and he enjoyed it.

They pulled into the driveway of Catherine's spacious house. Lindsay got out and opened the front door to the house. Greg followed behind her.

She dropped her backpack on the kitchen table and proceeded to get a soda out of the refrigerator. She turned to Greg. "Are you going to stick around until my Mom gets home?"

Greg shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He realized he left his cell phone out in his car. "I'm just going to go back and grab my cell phone. I'll be right back."

As he walked out to his car, he noticed a SUV parked a few houses down with a man sitting in it. He would not have thought much of it if he had not noticed him sitting there when he drove down the street and pulled into the driveway. The man had a ball cap pulled low on his head.

Greg suddenly felt as though someone was behind him. He swung around with a punch and caught a bearded man, a couple inches shorter than him, in the jaw with his fist. The man stumbled back a few steps, in shock. Greg got a better look at him and recognized him from the sketch released by the Schilling boy of his kidnapper. Greg's mind quickly registered what was possibly about to happen. Lindsay was reputed mobster, Sam Braun's granddaughter. But Sam was dead, why? He was broken out of his thoughts as the bearded man went reaching to his side for his gun.

Greg gathered up as much strength as he could and ran at the man, tackling him to the ground before he grabbed his gun.

Lindsay came out the door, hearing commotion. "Oh my God, Greg! What's going on?" She yelled in fright.

Greg quickly glanced at her. "Get inside, lock the door and call 911," he yelled. He saw her hesitate. "Just do it!" Then he saw her run back inside. He refocused on the man he had pinned down. He fought to grab the man's gun. Greg won the battle and held the gun to the man. After all he had been through, he felt more comfortable holding a gun again to protect himself or anyone else he cared about.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Greg asked through gritted teeth.

The bearded man's eyes darted to the side.

Greg looked and saw the SUV speeding away. He then looked back at the man he had trapped and grinned. "Look's like your partner just left you high and dry."

The man suddenly looked defeated. Troy had left him to get caught, but then he supposed it was better than ending up dead like Michael.

Lindsay had called the police then looked out the window. She saw that Greg had control over the man and decided to venture out.

"So you got him? What does he want?" She asked as she stepped out the door.

"Lindsay, I told you to stay inside," he said as he turned his attention to her.

"Yeah, but…" Her eyes widened as she saw the bearded man take a swing at Greg's face.

Greg was too late in responding and was knocked over by the assailant. The gun popped out of his hand. Surprisingly enough, though, the man just jumped up and started running away.

Greg grabbed for the gun again, but the man was too far away for him to try to shoot at him. He did not want to be responsible for possibly killing another man.

"Shit," he yelled as the man ran out of sight. Then he started hearing the sirens of the cops. He had a small hope they might see him running and catch him.

He turned around and glared at Lindsay, who stood in the doorway, her head lowered. "You should have stayed inside like I told you. Now look at what happened." He was mad. His jaw hurt from where the guy sucker punched him and the suspect got away because he let Lindsay distract him.

"I'm…I'm sorry Greg. I just wanted to see if you were okay," Lindsay said weakly.

Greg shook his head as he met up with the police officers that showed up. He explained what happened to the officers. He noticed out of the corner of his eye, Lindsay sitting down on the front entrance stairs, her head lowered. He was going to go over to her when he heard Catherine's car pull in.

She jumped out of the car, seeing the two cop cars in the driveway. "What happened? What the hell is going on?"

Lindsay saw her mom and ran over to hug her. "I'm sorry, mom. I did not mean too," she said starting to cry.

Catherine looked over at Greg, who still stood by the officers. Her eyes full of questions, but simply holding her daughter and telling her it was okay.

"What happened?" She asked her daughter. Lindsay stopped sobbing and looked at her mom.

"Greg went outside to get his cell phone out of his car. I heard some noise and saw him fighting with this guy. I came out to see what was going on. He told me to call 911 and stay inside. Well after I called I peeked out the window and saw him over the guy holding a gun. So I thought the coast was clear so I came out. Greg told me to go back inside. I distracted him and the guy hit Greg and ran off. Greg's angry with me and I don't blame him. I'm sorry."

"It'll be okay. I'll talk to him. Why don't you help Grandma inside while I talk to Greg and the police," Catherine told her. Lindsay nodded her head and went ahead.

Catherine went over to Greg. She noticed he seemed irritated. Greg stepped away to talk to Catherine.

"What went on here, Greg? Lindsay said you were fighting some guy and had a gun on him?"

Greg sighed. "It was one of the kidnappers from your Schilling-mob related case. I recognized him from the sketch by the kid. He was trying to knock me out. I think he was after Lindsay."

Catherine shook her head. "Why do you think that?" But before he had a chance to answer, she figured it out. "Sam," was all she said.

Greg raised his eyebrows while nodding his head.

"But still, he is dead and he left me some money but I mean the connection was not really public," she said, thinking aloud.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they knew him well enough to know about you. As for the overall motive, I do not know. What I do know is it was a two-person operation. I noticed a black SUV across the street that I had my eye on earlier take off in a hurry once I overpowered the guy and held his own gun to him."

"Lindsay feels really bad about supposedly distracting you and the guy hitting you and getting free. She says you are mad at her." Her voice had a slight accusation tone to it.

"Well I am, sort of. I told her to stay inside," he said angrily.

"Yeah, well she's a teenager. They don't always listen," she smirked.

"Hmm, so it seems," he scowled. "I just did not want her to get hurt."

"I know and I appreciate that." She noticed the left side of his jaw was red. She lifted a hand to it. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really, I've had much worse," he said as his mind automatically went back to his beating.

She could tell too that his mind went back to that moment as the subtlest flicker of a painful memory flashed in his brown eyes.

Her hand was still resting on his cheek. "Yeah I know. I'm glad nothing bad happened this time."

A familiar unmarked police car pulled into the driveway. Captain Jim Brass came out. "Now what trouble have you two gotten into," he smirked as he came up to the two CSI's.

Greg grinned at him. "Trouble is my middle name, but unfortunately I did not cause it this time."

"So I hear. So you think it was the same guy who kidnapped the Schilling kid?"

"Yeah, I'm almost positive and I can safely say he was wearing a fake beard and blue contacts. So we probably can have Archie work on a computer composite image of what he might really look like and maybe figure out who he is," Greg said.

"That would be great. At least you got a good look at him," Catherine smiled.

"Yeah and we have his gun, although my prints are all over it now. He was wearing gloves."

"Great. I'm going to head back to the station. I'll let Grissom know you two will be running late. I'll need to take official statements from you later on," Brass said to Greg.

Greg nodded, knowing the routine.

Greg and Catherine went inside the house after all the officers left. Lindsay sat on the sofa staring at the blank TV screen.

Catherine looked at Greg, who looked at Lindsay. "Okay, I will talk to her," he grumbled as he saw the look Catherine was giving him.

He went over and sat next to Lindsay. She looked at him with red-rimmed eyes from crying. He hated it when females looked at him like that. He was a sucker for it.

"I'm sorry, Linds. I did not mean to get so mad at you. I just wanted to keep you safe. Your mom would kill me if I let anything happen to you, you know that, right?" He gave her a smile.

"Yeah you are right and I'm sorry I did not listen. I was worried about you too, you know," she said coyly.

"I didn't know you cared," he grinned widely at her.

She blushed some then gave him a light punch on his arm. "Stop that," she giggled.

Catherine came over now that she could see they were goofing around. "So I gather you two are okay now?"

"Yeah, we are cool," Lindsay, said.

"Good, now that that is settled, we need to have a serious talk."

Lindsay frowned, thinking she was still in trouble.

"I do not want to scare you but Greg and I think the man that was here today was out to get you," Catherine warned her daughter.

Lindsay's eyes darted between the two of them, making sure they were serious. "What makes you say that?" Her eyes were wide with curiosity and a touch of fear.

"The guy who was here is wanted for another kidnapping of a young boy."

"I recognized him from a sketch the boy had come up with of him," Greg added.

"Why would he want me though?"

"Honey, it has to do with who your grandfather is. That's what we believe," Catherine told her daughter in a soft voice.

"Sam?" Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"Yes, Sam. He was involved with some bad people at times. These people might be seeking some sort of revenge or sending a message," Catherine told her.

"But he is dead, why bother seeking revenge now?" Lindsay asked them.

"We're not sure, Honey. That we have not figured out yet. In the meantime, why don't you start dinner, help your Grandma Lily. We'll talk more about this over dinner."

Lindsay nodded and went into the kitchen, while Greg and Catherine took their conversation to the living room.

"I'm thinking about sending Lindsay away to her other grandparents for a few days. She has some school days off coming up. That way she would be safely out of town. I do not want to take any chances. She already had been through some stuff like this. She does not need more."

Greg nodded. "Sounds like a good idea to me. At least we have a better lead on this guy now. I got to get down to the lab and work with Archie on the face."

"Yeah. You're okay, right?" She asked him, hoping he had not injured himself in the fight.

He sighed. "I'm fine. My ego probably hurts more," he smirked.

"I'm sure it does," she laughed a bit. "So I'll see you later on then, at work." She kissed him. "Be careful."

"You too. See you later," he said as he left the house to head to the Las Vegas Police Department headquarters.


	7. Chapter 7

After Greg gave his official statement to Brass, he went into the Crime Lab and sought out Archie.

"Hey Archie, you got that drawing of that kidnapper? I think it's time to figure out what this guy really looks like."

Greg told Archie to remove the beard and mustache and give the guy blue eyes instead of the brown he had in the drawing. Then they shortened his shaggy hair.

Greg studied the face of the final draft. "I think this will be as close as we can get to what he really looks like."

"I'll start running him through the database and see if we get any matches," Archie told him.

"Cool, thanks! Call me if anyone comes up." Greg left the AV lab area and was off to see if Catherine had checked in. He found her in the break room getting some coffee.

She spotted him before he could say anything. "Hey, did you get with Archie?"

"Yes, I just came from him. He is running comparisons now. Did you make arrangements yet for Lindsay?"

"Yes and she does not want to leave, but I insisted. Lily also will be heading out of town. They leave after school tomorrow."

"You're going to stay with me at my place then when they are gone, right?" Greg said in more of a commanding tone than questioning one.

"Well, I had not thought about it. You can always just stay with me," she told him, preferring her home over his apartment for obvious reasons.

"They know where you live. More than likely they don't know where I do. I'd think it would just be safer overall at my place."

"Perhaps, but if they are really smart, they might know where you live too. So I really do not think it matters, Greg," her voice having some heat behind the tone. She knew he meant well, but she was able to take care of herself.

"Fine! How about we just alternate between our places then." He gave her a stern look, letting her know this was his last offer.

She grinned, thinking it was funny that he was getting ticked off about it. "Okay, I can live with that."

He smiled. "Good."

Warrick came walking into the break room. "Hey, you two. I heard about the excitement you had at your house. Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah everyone is fine," she said before getting a raised eyebrow from Greg, who was now sporting a bruised jaw. "Well, basically everyone," she shrugged.

"Okay, I hear you got a good look at the guy, Greg."

"Yep, Archie is working on finding a facial match now."

Nick and Sara came in and Greg and Catherine filled them in on the events too.

They all converged in Grissom's office to get their assignments for the evening. After he gave them out he asked Greg and Catherine to stay behind.

"I heard about what happened at your house today. I'm glad to see everyone is okay. Catherine, I know you were working on these cases before, but now that you are linked to them, I'm going to have to pull you off. Likewise Greg, I can't have you working on it due to your personal relationship and involvement in it."

Greg frowned, not liking being able to catch the guys they were after but he knew it was procedure.

"So who will be working it?" Catherine asked Grissom.

"Warrick will be heading it up since he was already on it with you. Nick will be with him for now."

Catherine knew it would come to this. "Okay, well I am sending Lindsay out of town with Lily for a few days anyway to play it safe."

"Good idea, better to be safe than sorry. Well, now that that is settled, you two can go on ahead with your new assignments."

Outside of Grissom's door, Catherine told Greg she would talk to him later on.

Greg said goodbye to her and headed down the hallway to find Sara for the new case they were assigned. As he was passing the trace lab, Hodges popped his head out.

"I heard you let the kidnapper sucker punch you and get away. Nice going, Sanders," he snickered.

Greg glared at him. "I doubt you would have even had the guts to take him on."

Hodges stared back at him. "I would have taken him on, probably, but that's why I like the safety of my lab. No weirdos in here to worry about."

"Except you," Greg smirked as he walked off, leaving Hodges irritated behind him.

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Troy paced the floor, cursing the mistakes made by Will. Will had found his way back to their hideout, by stealing a car.

Will stared down at his shoes, praying Troy would not kill him like he did Michael.

"I swear, you all are idiots. I should have gone in myself and not let amateurs take care of him and got the girl. Now we need to take a completely new approach." Troy stared at Will. "If you weren't my cousin, you would be dead now."

Will continued his fascination with his shoes, but thinking how lucky he was being given a second chance.

Troy was pacing again. "I think it is time we take this to the next level. No more games. We've gone after the little fish already. Now it is time for some bigger fish, fish that will make us famous for what we are doing. And this time there will be no screw ups." With that last comment he glared at Will.

Will finally caught his eye and nodded his head, determined he would not fail his cousin this time.

It had been a long shift. Greg found out from Archie that he could not find a match for their suspect in the database.

When Greg ran into Catherine as she as leaving, he asked her if she heard about their zero matches.

"Yeah, I heard. I was hoping we would get a lead there, but I guess not. At least his face is out there now on wanted posters." She looked at him curiously. "What are you doing now?"

He shrugged slightly. "I planned on going home and getting some sleep. I'm tired after everything that happened." He was feeling sore all over too, but he did not want to mention that to her.

"Oh good. I mean I sort of wanted some alone time with my daughter before she goes away."

He smiled. "Just admit it, you are sick of me." He teased.

She grinned back. "Not yet, but maybe someday if I grow bored of you."

He feigned a hurt look. "Ouch, it is true what they say about you."

"What's that? Who says what about me?"

He smirked. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "We'll find out how much you won't be getting any from me until you tell me."

He chuckled. "Ah, I love it when you threaten me."

She just shook her head at him, smiling. "You're a piece of work, you know that?" He just grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

"Anyway I need to go home now and so do you. I'll see you later on then."

"Say goodbye to Lindsay and your Mom for me," he said as she walked off.

"I will," she yelled back from her car.

When Catherine arrived at work later that evening, Greg was already there chatting with Nick.

"Hey guys! Any news on our Mob related case?" She asked as she took a seat at the break room table.

"I was just telling Greg here that we are looking into any connections between our three victims, besides being associated with the mob. We had nothing until we linked Sam Braun into it."

Catherine looked surprised. "Really? How so?"

"Well you know how Sam liked to have parties at his resorts? It turns out all of these families were at one in particular. Do you recall his big party at the Tangiers for its 10th year anniversary?"

Catherine looked thoughtful for a moment. "Was that in the summer of 2004?"

Nick nodded. "Yes, it was. July 5th to be exact. It was billed as being The Day After Our Independence."

"Yeah he had fireworks and a ton of dancers clad in skimpy red, white, and blue outfits," Greg said excitedly. "Or so I heard," he added quickly after getting a dirty look from Catherine.

"So all these families were at this party thrown by Sam? So you think this all somehow links back to him?" Catherine asked.

"It is starting to look like it. We are trying to get names of employees and guest who were all there at that time and then see if we have any matches to our one suspect."

"Well let me know if you need any help getting information. I know Lily attended that party, but I did not. She might be able to supply some info," Catherine said to Nick.

"I will let you know if we do," he said to her.

"I've got assignments," Grissom said as he walked into the break room. He handed out assignments to his CSI's.

Greg was working with Sara again on a home invasion case, while Catherine and Grissom went out on a shooting at a nightclub. Nick and Warrick were in the lab still running down connections with the mob related case.

On the drive out to their scene, Grissom asked Catherine if Lindsay was out of town now.

"Yeah, I took her to the airport on the way to work. I just feel better having her out of town with what happened now."

"Did you hear about the Sam connection?" he asked her.

"Yeah, Nick filled me in. I offered my help if needed on finding more information out, but I will stay out of it otherwise."

"Good," he said, satisfied his lead CSI would not get involved in the case.

Back at the lab, Greg and Sara sorted through their evidence they collected at the home invasion. The family had a security camera inside their house that the invaders did not seem to be aware of the brazen invaders. They had not bothered to hide their faces.

After an hour of searching, Archie was able to match the faces with two criminal profiles. An APB was put out on both suspects.

Catherine wrapped up her shift and met Greg in the locker room. He was sitting on the bench holding his head in his hands. "What's wrong with you?" She asked as she sat next to him.

He looked up at her. "Oh hey! I just have a headache brewing. How was your day?"

"It was good. They caught our suspects hiding in a vacant warehouse about a mile from the club. What about yours?"

"Well we've identified the suspects. There is an APB out on them right now." He looked at her, a small grin forming on his face. "So your place or mine today?"

"Uh, since Lindsay and Lily are gone, I have a chance to run some errands I've been needing to take care of for awhile. So since I do not know when I will be back, we stay at our own places." She cringed a little when he pouted.

"You are getting sick of me!" He was pouting but she could see the teasing in his eyes.

"Hmm, maybe I found someone younger," she played with him.

"Now that is just mean. No actually that line should be coming from me," he said, playing stunned.

She laughed. "You're probably right. Anyways I promise we can spend the next day together."

"I didn't know you were off Thursday?" He asked surprised.

"Warrick needed Friday off, so we swapped," she responded with a shrug.

"Hmm, well maybe we should do something special then?" He raised his eyebrows with the suggestion.

"What is that wicked mind of yours thinking?"

"For me to know and for you to find out," he grinned with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Well, your headache seemed to disappear fast," she commented, seeing him more energetic suddenly.

"No, not really. Just ignoring it mostly. So at least call me later on when you do get home," he said to her.

"Worrying about me already?" Catherine asked with a smirk.

"Hey you worry about me all the time, I can worry about you too," he defended himself.

"Yeah but you're the one always getting into trouble," she smiled at him.

He looked dejected. "You make it sound like I asked for what happens to me."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I know you don't. I'm sorry."

They sat silent for a moment before Greg broke it. He stood up and opened his locker. "Well, I'm going to get going. I'll get rid of this headache sooner once I get home and get some sleep."

"Yeah you do that. I'll see you later on this evening then."

He kissed her briefly then was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

Late in their shift at work, Greg and Catherine finally saw each other. They were working separate cases again.

When they finally caught up with each other, Greg pulled her to the side.

"Hey, how about getting out of town for our day off together?" He was looking at her, eyes wide with excitement.

"What have you planned, Greg Sanders?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"Nothing major. I just got us a little place to stay at out of town for the night," he said coyly.

"Are you going to tell me where?" She asked him curiously.

"When we get there," he grinned mischievously.

"What if Lindsay needs to get a hold of me?"

"You have a cell phone, don't you?"

She sighed. "Fine. I really do not like surprised though."

He grinned. "I know! That is why I am enjoying this."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You better watch out. You keep this up, you'll be having fun all alone."

His eyes sparkled. "Oooh, more threats…Gosh how that turns me on."

She huffed as she closed her locker door. "Are you going to at least give me a clue as to what to pack for the night?"

"I'll go home with you and tell you then. Then we will just take my car to the place."

"Okay, well shift is over, so let's go." She told him as she walked out of the locker room.

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They watched as two vehicles pulled up to the Willows house. "The boyfriend is there again," Will said to Troy.

Troy just watched as Greg and Catherine got out of their cars and walked into the house. "We'll have to wait it out and hope he leaves. I do not want any screw ups this time."

"What if he does not leave," Will asked.

Troy glared at him. "We will change our plans then. This is going to happen in the next 24 hours no matter what."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An hour passed before both Catherine and Greg re-emerged from the house. Greg carried Catherine's overnight bag and placed it in his trunk, next to his bag.

"I can't believe I'm letting you take me someplace I do not know about," she complained.

"Aw, come on. Live a little."

She rolled her eyes at him as she opened the passenger door of his car and got in.

He had a smile on his face he could not get rid of. He loved that he was able to pull off this little getaway with her alone, away from the madness for at least a day. He needed it just as much as she did.

Catherine remained quiet as they drove out of the city limits. She noticed they were heading northwest towards the Humboldt Torjabe National Forest. She looked at him finally. "Did you get us a cabin or something?"

He sighed. "See I knew a good CSI would not take long to figure out where we were going." He looked over at her and grinned.

She smiled back at him. "Thank goodness it is just that. I was getting some strange ideas."

He gave her a curious glance. "Like what?"

She smirked. "For me to know and for you to find out."

He pouted. "Ah, using my own words against me."

"Yep, that is right," she smiled.

Greg had noticed a green Tahoe that seemed to be traveling behind them for some distance now. He was slightly suspicious of it, but he did not say anything to Catherine. He did not want her to think he was paranoid.

When they turned off onto the main road that led them to the Lodge check in, the Tahoe did not follow. That eased his concern some.

"Oh! This place. I've stayed in one of these before," Catherine exclaimed.

"Really? When?" He asked with curiosity.

"Uh, well it was when I was married to Eddie."

"Oh I see," he said as he wished he had not asked. She hardly ever talked about Eddie and he was fine with that.

They checked into the front desk at the Lodge at Mt. Charleston and got a key for their cabin.

Greg drove up to their cabin. The cabins were set in private settings so they felt like there was no one else around, even though about another ¼ of a mile away was another cabin. The trees were thick and gave them the illusion of total privacy.

"They have redone them since I was last here, looks much nicer now," Catherine commented as they entered the cabin. Greg dropped their bags onto the bed.

It was a one-room cabin. There was a small kitchenette and table, along with a couch that say opposite the fireplace. The queen-sized bed was across from the kitchenette area, to the side of where the small living room area was.

Catherine turned around to face Greg. "Have you been here before?"

A small grin formed on his face. She quickly held up her hand before he responded. "You know what, I do not want to know."

He chuckled. "It wasn't what you think but I'll just say that I have been here before."

They settled themselves into the cabin by unpacking their things. Catherine wanted to get a run in on the outdoor trail before it got dark. Greg joined her, knowing his doctor had been advising him to get more physical activity to improve his mobility since his back still gave him issues.

They started heading back to the cabin when the sky threatened rain. "I'm going to go outside and bring in some logs before it starts to rain. It's going to be a cold night." Greg said to Catherine as she went into the kitchenette area.

"Okay, don't take too many at a time and mess up your back," she told him.

He rolled his eyes at her before heading back out the door.

As he was collecting some logs from the pile, he thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye by the tree line. He shook it off figuring it was an animal. He got one armful of logs and went inside. He put them in the fireplace and decided to grab a few more, so he went back out to get a few more.

Greg was grabbing a log when he felt the first drop of rain. "Crap," he cursed to himself as he started to hurry up as the drops came down harder.

He was heading back to the cabin when he thought he heard something. He was about to turn around when Taser darts hit him in the back. The logs rolled out of his arms as he collapsed down on the ground in pain. When his assailant finally let up on the Taser, Greg was barely able to make out the man's face as the rain started to pour down onto his face.

The dark haired man smirked as he looked down on his victim. "Looks like I win this round," the man said to Greg.

Greg struggled to move as he recognized the face. The man kicked Greg in his side, laughing at the obvious pain Greg was in. He leaned down and grabbed Greg's wrists and pulled them behind his back. He took out some rope and tied his hands up, then grabbed a cloth and gagged his mouth. Greg still felt pain all over and slightly paralyzed that he was not able to put up a fight.

The man dragged him into the woods a bit until he got to a green Tahoe. Greg cursed to himself as he saw it was the same one from earlier. The man pulled Greg up to his feet and shoved him roughly in the back of the Tahoe.

The man got into the driver's seat and started the vehicle up. He turned around and grinned at Greg in the back. "We're moving to a better location."

Troy watched as Will was finally able to get his part of the mission accomplished. Now it was his turn to do his part in the plan.

He walked up the couple of steps of the cabin to the front door. He opened it slowly, his gun in hand. He saw Catherine Willows standing by the kitchenette, with her back to him.

"It sounds like it is starting to rain out there." She said with her back to the door thinking it was Greg coming in. When she got no response she turned around. She gasped when she saw a strange man holding a gun pointed towards her.

"Who are you? Where is Greg?" She asked with alarm in her voice.

While he moved closer to her, her hand found the paring knife she was using to cut an apple. She slowly moved her hand with the knife in it to her side, out of sight.

"Ms. Willows, we finally meet. Your father must have been thrilled to discover his long lost daughter worked for the LVPD. He had an insider on his side to cover his dirty business."

Catherine's mind whirled in the revelation that this was possibly their killer/kidnapper they had been searching for, the same people who were going to grab Lindsay. She did not say anything. She just watched him closely.

"Well, the quiet type. I like that. Now we just need to see if you are the cooperative type," he said as he made his slow approach towards her.

She started backing up. She wondered if he got to Greg already or if he was still outside. "What do you want?" She finally asked the tall man with piercing blue eyes.

"I want you to cooperate with me and I won't have to hurt you much, otherwise I am willing to use this," he said as he waved his gun at her.

She glared at him. "What? Am I supposed to go with you? For what? For ransom? From who? In case you did not realize Sam Braun died last year."

He smirked at her. "Ah, see I know that very well. No, I have no ransom plans for you. My plans for you are quite different, you see. I plan on making a message with you that even someone who is in law enforcement who's father was involved with mafia activities, can be held responsible for their father's actions."

She could not believe what he was saying. He definitely had a skewed way of thinking. "You are holding ME responsible for what my father did, a man I only knew to be my father 5 years ago? Do you know how crazy that is?"

"It may seem so to you, but perhaps not to others who do follow in their parents footsteps. Now if you may, please come from around the counter there."

"Why should I?" She said with attitude.

He grinned at her. "Well, I can shoot you or I can call my partner and have him kill your boyfriend. I know he would be happy to do it after their last incident together."

"You're lying. You don't have him," she yelled, even though she had a bad feeling since he had not returned yet and she knew he would not stay out there in the rain.

"Oh no, I am not. My partner has him tied up right now, moving him to where I plan on taking you, too. So if you want to see him again you will cooperate."

Catherine was not sure if he was bluffing or not. She studied his face a moment. He was not hiding behind a beard or anything. Besides his blue eyes, he had short black hair and was actually rather handsome except for the deep scar that went across his left cheek. However, the expression on his face was very serious and she could now tell he was not bluffing.

He moved closer to her. "So why don't you come to me with your hands out in front of you. So you might want to drop that knife you have in your hand," he said with a dead serious look on his face.

He was smarter than she thought he was. He must have seen her grab the knife. She sighed and placed it back on the counter.

"Good girl. Now come over here," he gestured with his free hand.

She slowly came over to him with an alternate plan in mind. "Do you have a name? Since you seem to know mine, it only seems fair."

He smiled. "Sure I have a name," he simply stated. He could tell she was up to something. He knew cops well enough to know they never gave up without a fight. He was already for her, he just wanted her a little closer.

As she edged closer to him, with his left hand he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his Taser and shot it off at her.

Catherine saw it coming but did not move fast enough to completely avoid the darts. They hit her in her abdomen, causing a ton of pain and her falling to her knees. He stepped over her.

"You weren't expecting that, were you? Now see if you can try whatever it was you had going on in that pretty head of yours." He chuckled as he pulled some rope out of his other pocket and grabbed her arms. He tied her wrists in front of her.

She glared coldly at him as he picked her up and carried her out of the cabin. He placed her in the back of his black SUV. "Now it is time to see your boyfriend," he chuckled as he put the SUV in drive.

* * *

A/N-Oooh what happens next??? You'll have to wait and find out. :) Leave comments...thanks to those who have. 


	9. Chapter 9

A/N-Thanks to Haldir's Heart and Soul and Cabot007 for your reviews. I am glad you are enjoying the story so far. Happy New Year!

* * *

The SUV came to a stop. Catherine was able to move again and had sat up only to see trees passing by the window. When they came to the stop, she saw a very small abandoned looking cabin. 

Her captor came over and opened the backdoor. He waved the gun at her. "Get out," he demanded.

She kept her cold gaze on him as she managed to get out of the SUV on her own. She looked around at her surroundings, trying to see if there was anything distinctive to tell where they were, but all she saw was forest.

The rain was still falling lightly. He shoved her forward towards the door of the cabin. He kept the gun on her with one hand and then knocked on the door in some sort of code.

The door opened and Catherine immediately recognized the man who stood in the doorway. It was the same man Greg had described from his incident at her house with Lindsay.

Troy pushed her inside past Will and locked the door behind him. "How's he doing?" Troy asked Will, referring to Greg.

"He's been quiet since I put him downstairs with Rage." Will replied with a wicked grin.

"Ah, Rage will do that to a person. He is quite intimidating," Troy smirked. He looked at Catherine.

"Time to reunite the lovebirds." He shoved the gun in her back as he pushed forward.

Catherine had been studying the cabin since she walked in. It was mostly empty, except for a couple wooden chairs and a portable stereo on the ground by the one chair. There were some cabinets on a far wall by a sink. There was one door that she assumed led to the bathroom. When the other man mentioned downstairs, she wondered where this entrance to downstairs could be. She got her answer when Will bent down and pulled up a small latch from the floor behind the chairs.

He opened the trap door and gestured for her to come to him. She stepped near him after a shove in her back by Troy she looked down and saw a small staircase.

"You go first and I will follow behind her. Don't forget about Rage." Troy told Will. Will nodded and started going down the stairs. He saw Rage standing guard near where Greg leaned sitting against the wall.

Greg gave a death glare at Will as he came into the small cellar.

Troy pushed Catherine to go down the stairs. As she made her way down the dimly lit stairs, she noticed how cold and damp it became. She was almost to the bottom when she noticed Greg sitting on the cement floor, with his hands tied behind his back.

"Greg!" She gasped seeing him all wet, dirty and with dried blood coming from his nose.

She tried to run towards him but a big Rottweiler stood up and started growling at her. She stopped when the dog nearly lunged at her.

"Rage, down!" Will yelled at the dog. The dog growled some but sat down at the command.

"Nice dog, huh," Greg murmured in a sarcastic tone. He looked at Catherine. She smiled; glad to hear he was able to still joke some.

Troy pushed her over to where Greg sat. She sat down close to Greg.

"Are you okay?" She whispered to him.

"For now I am. Are you okay?" He asked her back.

"Yeah." She looked from Greg to their capturers.

"What are you going to do with us? What do you want?"

Will looked to Troy, who just grinned. "We have no real plans for you except to leave you down here. That's all you need to know." He looked over at Will and gestured for him to follow.

Will nodded. "Rage, guard!" Will commanded the dog and then followed Troy back up the stairs.

"You're just going to leave us here?" Catherine yelled up after them. All she got in response was the closing of the trap door and the small cellar going into dimness. Only a lantern gave them some light.

She looked close at Greg, now that they were alone. He looked worse for the wear. "What happened to you?" She asked as she put her hands to his face.

He sighed and told her how he was caught off guard and Tasered.

"How did you get the bloody nose?" She asked him.

"I opened my big mouth and made a snide comment he did not like very much, so he punched me," Greg declared sheepishly.

"Ahh, I see, " she simply stated.

He frowned then noticed her hands were tied in front of her. "Hey, see if you can untie me." He turned his body so his back was to her. He glanced over at Rage when he heard the dog growl at his movement.

"Oh I'm just moving slightly. Give me a break, dog," Greg whined.

Catherine could not help but grin some as she tried to work on Greg's bonds. "Dog's been giving you a rough time, I guess."

"Yeah, he's a ball of furry joy. Nearly bit me earlier when I tried getting up."

His ropes were not too hard to get undone. She had his hands free in a couple minutes.

He rubbed his wrists once he was free and started trying to untie her. "Do you have your cell phone on you? I left mine back on the coffee table in the cabin," Greg said to her.

She shook her head. "No, I wish I did. Mine is probably sitting right by yours."

"Great. Well we have to try to get out of here somehow. Once I get your hands free we have to figure out how to get the dog not to bark and tip them off," he told her.

"Got any food on you by any chance?" She asked him.

"Oh yeah, sure. I got a steak in my left pocket." He rolled his eyes at her.

"Okay, stupid question. Maybe I can baby talk him." She responded, staring at the large Rottweiler who sat at guard a few feet away from them.

Greg said "whatever," and continued working on her ropes, which were tied tighter.

Once he untied her he looked up towards the staircase. "So have you cooked up a plan yet in that beautiful head of yours?" He asked her with a serious look on his face.

"Nothing yet, really," she replied while rubbing her own wrists.

They both sat silently for a moment staring at the dog and thinking. Suddenly they heard commotion from above.

"I think they are coming back down. Quick wrap the ropes back around your wrists. I'll hide my hands behind my back. Maybe we can try to ambush them," Greg said quickly to Catherine.

Catherine gave him a quick look and saw the determination in his eyes to get out of there. "Okay, we will try something, but remember they are armed." She gave him a cautious look.

"I know." He moved back into his original sitting position just as the trap door opened up again.

They both watched carefully as Troy came down the stairs. He smiled viciously as he saw the two CSI's helpless in the cellar. He had his gun drawn as was usual for him.

"So have you two had a chance to catch up?"

They both glanced at each other briefly, exchanging a hopeful glance that only Troy came down.

"So are you just going to leave us down here to die?" Greg asked as he turned back to Troy.

"Smart man, that's the idea. I figure it will be a day or two before anyone knows you're missing. Then once word gets out to the media two CSI's are missing, we will take responsibility and send your death as a warning message to anyone who tried to mess with us."

"What no ransom or anything?" Catherine asked in disbelief.

"I thought about it and doubt that since Daddy Warbucks is out of the picture, no one would pay the kind of money I would want for you two, so instead you will be a message to those who think their ties with the mob are nothing. Anyone connected in anyway will be our target."

"What's your deal against the mafia anyway?" Greg wondered out loud.

Troy came closer to Greg. "Wouldn't you like to know, but you're the CSI, you figure it out."

"Hmm, a family member killed by the mob?" He guessed.

"Partially right," Troy said sternly.

"Partially right? Is the other part because you are partially insane?" Greg smirked.

Troy lurched closer to Greg, looking like he was about to take a swing at him.

Catherine had taken this distraction Greg created as a chance to act. She launched her whole body at him full force, knocking Troy over on the cement ground.

Troy still kept his grip on his gun in the tumble. In fury, he swung out, trying to hit Catherine. She ducked out of his swing.

Greg went to help Catherine in getting the gun away from Troy when he felt dog teeth clamp into his leg. He yelled out in pain and then tried beating off the dog.

Will heard the noise from down below and rushed down the stairs to help Troy out. He ran towards Catherine, who had turned her attention to Greg when he yelled out.

Taking his chance at the distraction his female prisoner was now looking at, Troy swung at Catherine again, striking her hard against the side of her head with his gun. She went down cold with the hit.

Greg saw this and screamed out her name, as Will called Rage off his attack. Greg scrambled to go over to her but was hit with the Taser gun again. He collapsed to the floor as the pain seared through his body again from the hit.

He glared up at Will as he pulled the Taser darts out.

"Now see that is the last time that will happen. You two are done for. I hope you enjoy your cold, damp grave." Troy stood over Greg with a vicious smile on his face.

"Come on, let's lock these lovebirds up to rot here," Troy said to Will, who followed him up the stairs with Rage following.

All of Greg's hopes of escape disappeared as he saw the trap door close and heard the locks being set.

He looked over at Catherine, who was lying face down. He dragged himself over to her, willing his body to ignore the pain.

He rolled her over and gasped when he saw blood along the left side of her face. "Catherine," he said in a soft, scared voice.

He sat himself up against the wall and pulled her into his lap. He hardly even noticed his own bloody right leg from where Rage attacked him. All he cared about was Catherine.

He brushed her hair back from her face. He took his sleeve and wiped most of the blood off the side of her face. The blood had dripped down from the wound on her head. He wished he had water or something to clean the wound, but they left them with nothing but a lantern.

He looked down at her serene face. "Come on, Catherine, wake up. Don't leave me here alone. I need you. I need you so much. I know that sounds selfish but it is true." The despair was thick in his voice. He just held her tight and prayed that she would wake up again.


	10. Chapter 10

He sat there for what felt like forever to him just holding her. He knew, somewhere inside of him, he should be trying to see if they could get free, but he had a feeling the only way they would get free is for someone to find them. It was their day off. No one would even notice they were missing for at least another day, when they were both due to show up at work. He had not told anyone where they were going. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes wishing this were all a wicked dream he was having.

"Greg." His eyes sprung open and he looked down to see Catherine coming to.  
"Hey! There you are. Jeez, you had me worried there for awhile," he said to her with a smile.  
"What happened?" She asked as she tried to sit up. He helped her up.  
"Take it easy. You took a hard hit to the head by the big guy with his gun."  
She lightly touched her hand to her head, feeling the large bump forming. She was no longer bleeding though. "Damn, feels like a big."

She looked to Greg. "Where are they now?"  
He looked away from her, up towards the stairs. "They took off, saying they are going to let us rot down here."

She looked frightened suddenly. "You mean they are not coming back at all?"  
He nodded his head. "That's what they told me."  
Her eyes also went to the stairs now. "We have to see if we can get out of here."  
He looked at her. "Agreed, but you take it easy for now. You probably have a concussion. I don't need you passing out on me again."

"Fine, I will take it easy," she groaned and rolled her eyes.   
He smirked at her reaction. He slowly got to his feet, feeling his whole body ache, especially his right leg and back.

Catherine noticed him limping and looked to see his right pants leg torn with blood around it. "What happened to your leg? It's bleeding," she said to him with concern lacing her voice.

He looked down at his leg. "Oh that? Rage got me when I tried to get away. Mean little bastard."  
"Greg that can get infected. We need to do something. You can't afford to get an infection."  
He looked at her incredulously. "Oh yeah, okay sure. Just let me go upstairs, grab a bottle of rubbing alcohol and clean it up. I'll be right back." He threw his hands up in the air. "What the hell, Catherine? Have you forgot we are trapped right now with nothing?"

Catherine was taken back by his reaction. She was stunned for a moment before responding. "I know what we are dealing with. I'm sorry I am concerned about you. I'll just mind my own business from now on."

He could see the hurt in her eyes. They did not need to be fighting at a time like this. "I'm sorry I blew up at you. I'm just not in the best of moods right now given the situation we are in, yet again," he sighed.

She knew what he meant and could not help but feel a bit of anger he was feeling now too. They were victims themselves again. She stared at him for a moment before finally saying, "I know."

He came over to her and helped her to her feet. "Let's see if we can get out of here," he said to her. She nodded and walked with him up the stairs. He grabbed the lantern that was left for them and took it up with them to the top of the stairs.

Greg tried pushing on the overhead door, which he knew would not open.  
Catherine looked at him. "I guess we try pushing against it and see if we can make it budge," she said to him with a look of little confidence.

"Okay, so on the count of three we try pushing with all we got," Greg told her.  
He counted to three and they both pushed with all their might and nothing happened. Greg then tried ramming into it with his shoulder only to hurt his shoulder.

After several minutes of both of them trying, they gave up. Greg look exasperated at Catherine. "I don't think yelling will do any good. This place is in the middle of nowhere. Plus this door is damn thick, I doubt anyone could hear us anyway," he said rubbing his sore shoulder.

Catherine slid back down the stairs, ending up sitting on the bottom step. Greg grabbed the lantern and joined her at the bottom of the stairs. He set down the lantern in front of them. He then wrapped his arm around her. She leaned her head against him.

"I can't believe this is happening to us. We were supposed to have a nice day away from everyone, but not like this," Catherine said, sadness in her voice.

"I know. I somehow feel like this is my fault," Greg said quietly.  
"Don't go blaming yourself for this. If anyone is to blame it is me," she stated.  
"Well, I saw a SUV following us for awhile on our trip here, but then when we turned off it did not so I brushed it off. Well, that same SUV was driven by the guy who grabbed me."

Catherine looked in Greg's eyes and could see fully that he was blaming himself. She put her hand over his. "You could not have known. Please just don't blame yourself and I won't blame myself. We can't blame ourselves for all the crazy people out in this world with their twisted motives. That's why we have the job we do, to at least try and stop them."

Greg grunted. "Lately I feel more like the victim than the person actually stopping them. I feel like their side is winning."

She could hear the anguish in his voice as much as he tried to hide it. As much as she was trying not to freak herself out about their situation, she did not want Greg to fall apart and give up hope too soon.

"They haven't won yet. We are still alive and the guys will find us," she told him.  
"They won't even realize we are missing until we do not show up for shift tomorrow night. We have nothing here to eat or drink. I don't know Catherine," Greg said despairingly.

Catherine felt herself getting a bit agitated with his attitude now. He would have never been like this before and she was not going to have it now.

"Greg, do not start this now! We have not even been here a day and you are already giving up hope. I will not let you. So just stop it"

He looked at her, a bit stunned by her outburst. A small grin formed on his face.  
"What are you grinning about?" She demanded.  
"Just thinking how lucky I am to have you here with me. I mean I rather you not be. I rather neither of us be here, but if there was anyone I would want to be trapped with it has to be you." He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.

She softened up after the kiss. "You can be tricky when you want to be," she smirked.  
"I do what I can," he grinned.  
She brushed some dirt off his cheek. "How did you get so dirty and wet?"  
He told her how it had started raining when he was Tasered and how he was dragged to the truck.  
"Aren't you cold? I am," she asked him.  
"Yes, I am, but I am trying not to think about it." He shrugged, knowing there was nothing he could do about it.

He looked at the lantern. "I wonder how much life this thing has before we are in the dark?"  
She looked at the lantern also. "Hopefully long enough. The thought of being in the dark in here creeps me out."

"Yeah me too," he said with a slight shiver.  
She noticed that shiver. She looked at his leg again. She grabbed the lantern and crouched down lower.  
"What are you doing?" He asked her as he saw her move down.  
"I want a better look at that bite on your leg," she said as she lightly picked up his pants leg to examine in more closely.

He winced when she prodded the area with her finger.  
She did not like the look of it. There were deep puncture wounds and already starting to swell around the whole area.

"This is not good, Greg."

"Is any of this good?" He lashed out.

"No, but still you can't afford an infection. You know you are more susceptible to them now because you have no spleen," she glared at him, but it was with concern.

"Yeah, well it will not matter if we do not get out of here. So let's worry about that first," he said with a stern expression on his face.

"I know you are right, I just worry about you."

He raised his hand to where the bump was on her head. "Yeah, well I worry about you too and you probably should see a doctor too, but none of that matters right now. Only figuring our way out of here does."

She sighed and looked around at their so-called prison. "Have you had a chance to look around and see if anything is down here we can use?"

He shook his head. "No, I was kind of tied up at first," he scowled.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry." She got up and took the lantern with her, leaving Greg in the dark mostly.

She searched the small space looking for anything they might be able to use. She returned to Greg when she started feeling dizzy.

"Are you okay?" He asked her as she lay down slowly besides him.

She looked disappointed. "I did not see anything and I am feeling a bit woozy."

"Look, I'm tired myself. Why don't we maybe try to get some sleep and then try to get out of here again," Greg suggested.

"Okay. Let's turn off the lantern while we sleep to conserve it," Catherine said.

"It's going to be really dark," he surmised.

"Yeah, I know but as long as I am in your arms I will be fine," she smiled up at him as she curled into him.

He smiled back. "Okay, let's try some sleep then." He turned off the lantern and held her tight as they were plunged into darkness. He knew it was night out already anyway, so there would be no light from above at all.

She heard him sigh. "You okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, let's just try to sleep," he said softly as he felt his tired body give way to the inner darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

**a/n- Glad you are liking my story. Things become a little clearer now on what might happen.**

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The next evening at the Las Vegas Crime Lab, Grissom and Nick were waiting for Greg and Catherine to show up to work on their cases. It was very unlike them to come late and it was now running near two hours late, with no call from either one. 

"Well, they did have off the same days. Maybe they went somewhere and their car broke down," Nick suggested.

"They have cell phones. They would have called." Grissom was starting to worry a little, but did not show it.

"I'll call Greg and see where he is," Nick volunteered.

"And I will call Catherine and try to reach her," Grissom said.

After they both tried calling them a couple times with no response, Grissom and Nick became more concerned. Catherine and Greg were people who were always on time and if not they would call.

"I'm going to send officers to each of their homes and check if they are home."

After another hour passed and the officers reported no one was home at either residence, Grissom met with Brass.

"Have you contacted Lily and Lindsay to see if they have heard from them?" Brass asked Grissom.

"Yes and neither have. They said they were going somewhere for the night, but they should have been back now. Lindsay said her mom never called her to tell her that they were staying."

"Well we can run a credit check on both and see if they charged anything recently. It might give us their location," Brass suggested.

They did just that and found that Greg had used his credit card to pay for a cabin at the Lodge at Mount Charleston.

Brass and Grissom sent Nick along with Detective Vega to the cabin to check on things. With the attempted attack against Lindsay and now Greg and Catherine missing, something was up.

They got a key to their cabin from the Lodge's front desk and drove to the location. Nick spotted Greg's car immediately outside the cabin. They walked up and knocked first, just in case they were inside. When no one answered, Nick unlocked the door, gun drawn just in case with Det. Vega at his side.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Nick called out as he walked around the one room. Obviously no one was around, so he started looking for clues to their whereabouts.

He noticed a cell phone on the coffee table. He picked it up with his gloved hands. It was Greg's phone. He saw that he was the last person listed on his Caller ID.

"I got a cell phone over here too," Vega said, bringing it over to Nick.

Nick took it and knew it was Catherine's. He got an uneasy feeling in his stomach suddenly.

"Check this out," Vega said as he motioned Nick over to the kitchenette area.

Nick came over to see what Vega was talking about. Left on the counter were a knife and a sliced apple, along with a half empty bottle of water. Nick photographed them then bagged them, along with their cell phones.

He went outside to look at Greg's car. He saw nothing unusual. He walked around and saw a pile of logs scattered about on the ground. He noticed a couple muddy footprints and took photos. He followed the footprints and then noticed what seemed to look like someone was dragged. He followed the path up to tire tread marks. The ill feeling in his stomach only got worse.

He told Vega he was going to be there awhile to take molds of the footprints and tire treads, before they could head back to the lab.

"I'll call Brass and fill him in," Vega told him.

A few hours later, Nick was in the Crime Lab with Grissom, Sara, Warrick and Brass joining them.

"It looks like Catherine was inside. Her prints were on the knife and water bottle found on the counter. No sign of a struggle inside. On the outside, there were signs of a struggle, however. Possibly Greg, but we can't say for sure. Someone appears to have been dragged up to a truck or SUV based on tire treads and most likely taken that way," Nick filled them in.

"If we are looking at the same suspects who kidnapped the Schilling boy, a Taser was used on them in addition to the other girl's case. So they might have been Tasered and taken that way," Warrick said.

"We still can't be sure they were actually taken though. No ransoms have been made," Sara added but doubt showed in her eyes.

"No, we can't but be sure but they would have contacted us by now if they could. Something is definitely wrong. If it is these same people we think, they are unpredictable with what they do with their victims," Grissom told them, his voice steady as always.

"They've killed before. Do you think they could be dead already?" Sara asked, but not really wanting an answer.

"We can't be sure of anything right now. We just have to work with what little information we have. I am having Brass put out a missing persons for both of them. Maybe someone has seen them or has clues for us." Grissom looked at his three CSI's standing before him. He could see the concern on all their faces. He knew they would do anything in their power to find Catherine and Greg. He only hoped that they were not already dead.

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Greg rubbed his sore shoulder. It was taking a beating but it was worth it if it eventually meant breaking that trap door and getting free.

"Take a break, Greg before you bust up your shoulder. You are already limping around with your leg, plus you're getting sick. I don't need to be worrying about you dying on me before we even get out of here," Catherine yelled at him.

They were both frustrated and hungry and starting to get aggravated with each other. They had been stuck down there over 36 hours already.

"Well, you want to get out of here, don't you? At least I'm trying here," he yelled back at her then coughed a little.

She glared up at him at the top of the stairs. "I've tried too, you know it. Don't play that macho crap with me."

"Fine, I'll rest for awhile," he grumbled as he slowly made his way down the stairs.

Catherine watched him carefully as he slid down the wall into a sitting position, carefully stretching his injured leg out. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Maybe we should turn off the lantern and catch some sleep again," he suggested to her, as his aching body screamed at him to rest.

She sighed, knowing he was right, but she hated being in the darkness down there. She kept feeling like things were crawling on her and she had trouble sleeping, unlike Greg who seemed to fall asleep immediately and slept until she usually woke him up. She knew his ability to sleep so easily was due to the fact he was getting sick and he was in a lot of pain, even though he denied all of it. He had started having coughing fits but he blamed it on his dry throat. She knew it was more than that, but knew it only made him angry when she brought it up.

She was standing by the stairs and came to sit right next to him. She set the now much dimmer lantern next to her. "Okay, I'll try to sleep some. Can you at least hold me?" She asked him meekly.

He cracked open his eyes and looked over at her. He gave her a small smile as he put his left arm around her and pulled her close to him. She cuddled up close to him, grateful for his warmth. She turned off the lantern and plunged themselves into an eerie darkness.

Catherine sat in the darkness with her head leaning against Greg's shoulder. She thought about Lindsay and even though she hated being in this situation, she was glad it was not Lindsay. It could have been her alone in there, all scared with no way of getting out. Catherine pulled closer to Greg, as she was grateful she was not alone herself.

Greg felt her grip on tighter to him. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere," he said to her in a soft voice.

She sighed. "I know. I was just thinking how it could have been Lindsay down here all alone."

He understood her. He kissed her on her head in a loving gesture. "Well, she's not down here and you're not alone down here either."

"I know and as much as I hate that you are down here with me, I am also just as happy that you are."

He smiled bitterly to himself. "Well, I am glad I am here for you." Greg was trying hard to hide how he felt about being trapped there to possibly die. If he let those thoughts get to him he knew he would lose it. So anytime he started to feel anxiety he either tried to rush up against the trap door or held on tightly to Catherine. Now was a time when he did the later.

He drew in Catherine closer to him and closed his eyes tight, willing sleep to take him over. It was not hard since he had been feeling unwell, even though he did not admit it. Plus the pain in his leg and shoulder now was wearing him down and made him fall asleep.

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"We have now made a press release that two CSI's are missing. We put their names and faces out there for anyone who might have seem them or have clues to their whereabouts," Grissom told the rest of his team as he updated them on the latest developments on the disappearance of Catherine and Greg.

They all exchanged concerned looks. It was over 55 hours since they had not shown up for their shifts. They had no idea yet if they were alive or dead. They could only hope for the best and keep looking for evidence to their disappearance.

Troy watched the TV gleefully as the news reported about the two missing CSI's.

"Well, it looks like time to let them know who is behind their disappearance," he said to Will, who sat next to him looking pleased with himself for finally getting it right.

"The letter is ready to go, right? Now make sure they cannot ID you," Troy told Will who nodded.

He had a new disguise and they would not recognize him in this one.

"I am ready. Let's do this," Will said confidently to Troy.

Troy smiled. "If only I could hear their reactions when they got the letter."

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Grissom went into his office near the end of his shift; frustrated they had nothing new to go on to find Catherine and Greg. He sat down at his desk and noticed a plain white envelope to him, with urgent written on it. He stared at it a moment before deciding to put on gloves before handling it.

He opened it up carefully with a letter opener and pulled out the simple folded sheet of white paper. He opened it up to see a neatly printed letter. He began reading it.

_Dear Mr. Grissom,_

_We have news regarding your two missing CSI's, Catherine Willows and Greg Sanders. We are using them to send our message to anyone who is involved with the mafia. They are our targets. They will pay for the damage caused to those we loved by those they work for or are related to, in this case, Catherine Willows, being the daughter of the late Sam Braun. Our attempt to get the granddaughter failed but we did succeed with your CSI, his daughter. Mr. Sanders is just a consolation prize for us._

_We are not asking for ransom. We want to show that we mean business. By the time you find your CSI's they will most likely be corpses. It's already been over 4 days since they've had food or water. I am sure they will not last much longer._

_We also have a letter going out to the press stating our cause. Soon all those with ties to the mob, whether it is family ties or employment, will be in fear of us who lurk out there to destroy their lives. Let it be known, Vegas is out first stop, soon we will move on to other cities and spread our wrath to those elsewhere._

_It's a shame your CSI was related. It's nothing personal against you or your job. I respect that, but it helps make our message strong and clear._

_The Mob Eradicators_

Grissom sighed deeply in concern. There would be no ransom. There were no clues to where they took them. They might be too late when they found them.

He sat for a few minutes in deep thought before calling the rest of his CSI team into his office.

Nick, Sara, and Warrick all rushed in, hoping for good news on Catherine and Greg. Instead they could tell by the seriousness in Grissom's expression that it was quite different. Brass joined the group for what Grissom had in news for them.

Grissom read the letter to them. When he was finished, his team members all exchanged glances ranging from shock to fear to anger.

Mandy came in the room, interrupting the silence that had been in the room. "Uh, you called me Grissom?" she asked him.

"Yes, please dust this letter and envelope for prints." He handed them off to her.

She just nodded and took it to her lab.

Grissom looked at Sara. "Get with Archie and see if we can get on our surveillance tapes who delivered this letter."

"Nick, continue working on that list of people who were all at Sam Braun's party. I have a strong feeling our guys were there."

"Got it," Nick said as he took off to do his job.

"Warrick, we are going back up to Mount Charleston with Brass and a search team. That forest is big and I have a feeling they are somewhere still up there."

"We will be bringing the search dogs with us. We'll need something from each of them for the dogs to get their scent off of," Brass told them.

"No problem, we have their travel bags from the cabin. I'm sure something is there they can use."

"Okay let's get going," Warrick said, anxious to find Greg and Catherine before it was too late.


	12. Chapter 12

**a/n--Thanks so much for those of you who have been constantly leaving me reviews. I really appreciate them. Glad you are enjoying the story. Will Greg and Catherine ever be rescued?? Well this chapter will answer that.**

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Catherine woke up suddenly feeling like something was crawling on her again. She sat up and grabbed the lantern and turned it on. She saw a spider crawling away and shivered at the thought that it was on her. Grissom would not have minded, she thought crudely.

"What's wrong?" She heard Greg mumble and then he went into a coughing fit.

His cough sounded worse to Catherine then it had before. "Greg, you sound horrible. We need to get you out of here and get you help."

He turned to glare at her. "Like I have not been trying to get out of here. And I am fine, just a bit of a cough."

Catherine fumed. "You are not fine. You look like hell."

"Yeah well, you don't look so great yourself," he groaned as he tried to stand up. His leg felt like it was on fire and his shoulder ached too.

"Where do you think you are going?" She asked him as he started going to the stairs.

"Where does it look like?"

"Stop being so stubborn. You've tried a ton of times already. It is not budging. The only thing you're managing to do is wreck your shoulder more," she yelled at him with a wobbly voice.

He looked back at her and saw that she was near tears, standing with her hands on her hips. He looked from her back up at his nemesis, the door that prevented them from getting out. He felt the conflict inside start to eat away at him again. If he gave up, that meant they would never get out of there. As long as he kept trying, he had some hope they might get out.

"I have to keep trying, if I give up, where does that leave us? Here to die," he said in a quiet, raspy voice.

She saw the fear in his eyes now and understood why he kept trying. She came up to join him on the stairs. She took his clammy hand and looked into his big brown eyes. "Okay, I will help you then."

He smiled gratefully at her, tightening his grasp on her hand. "Okay, let's try this again then."

They went to the top and tried together to break the door.

After ten minutes of trying, they both had to stop. Greg's shoulders could not take any more abuse; in addition he was finding it harder to breath without feeling pain in his chest. He slid down the stairs in defeat, resting on the bottom step.

Catherine joined him, rubbing her shoulder. She had a splitting headache and was finding it harder to ignore her stomach's hunger pains. Her mouth was cotton dry and she was feeling the effects of dehydration.

Greg started coughing again. When he was done, he felt worn out. He lay back against the stairs and closed his eyes. She could tell he was in pain. She also noticed that his breathing was becoming more labored.

She put her hand to his forehead. "You're burning up," she said in whisper to disguise her concern.

He opened his eyes and stared at her. Her face still had some dried blood on it from her head injury along with just some dirt from their current surroundings. Her hair had been in a ponytail, but she now was just wearing it loose. Her blue eyes showed tiredness and fear, but to him, she was still beautiful.

"You're so beautiful," he said to her in a hoarse voice.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, you're sick and delirious now."

He chuckled some then immediately regretted it as he started coughing again. Catherine winced hearing him coughing, it even sounded painful to her.

He sat up and hung his head once he stopped coughing. "I feel like hell and it's only getting worse. This sucks big time."

She put her arm around him gently. "They have to be looking for us. They will find us."

He gave her a sideways glance. "Yeah, they will but when. We won't survive down here forever. I know my gut is killing me, along with most of my body now."

She lowered her head. "I know. I may never see my daughter again." Then he heard her start to cry. He drew her in against him, her body feeling comforting and soft against his.

"I'm sorry. I'm not staying positive for you. It's just that…" he took a shallow shaky breath and shut up, trying to hold it together as long as he could.

She knew what he was going to say. "I know, life has been incredibly unfair to you in the last year, especially the last 3 months."

He just shook his head, not wanting to give a verbal response. He noticed the lantern light flickering suddenly.

"It's going to go out," he said solemnly.

She stared at it now in fright, not wanting to be plunged into total darkness infinitely.

Greg suddenly turned to Catherine, turning her chin with his hand to face him. "I love you, Catherine Willows. I want to tell you while I can still see your beautiful blue eyes staring back at me."

"Greg, please don't…" But he cut her off with a tender kiss. When he pulled away, she started crying again but hardly any tears came her from dry eyes.

"Come on, don't cry. You don't want to make me blubber all over the place, which in turn will make me cough," he said with a small grin.

She smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't want that to happen." She caressed his stubbly face with her hand. "You know I love you too."

"Yeah I know," he grinned feebly.

They both watched the lantern as the light slowly died. Catherine held on tight to him when it went out completely. It seemed now that she noticed his breathing seemed irregular.

"Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"They will find us."

"I know," he replied softly but not with convincement in his voice.

Grissom looked at his watch. He did not have a sure time in which Greg and Catherine had disappeared, but based on his calculations it was almost 5 days that they were gone.

The search teams had covered a 10-mile circumference the day before with no results.

They had no new clues based on the letter left behind for Grissom or the one released to a media outlet.

Nick and Sara had joined the search team, each teaming up with others and a search and rescue dog.

They were spanning out further into the forest with their search, still hoping they were there and not in the dessert.

It had rained again, making any trails nearly impossibly to find. They were hoping the dogs would be the ones to track them down.

She was so tired but she found it hard to sleep given the circumstances, but she had drifted off anyway. Her sleep was plagued with nightmares of being alive while her body slowly disinerigrated right in front of her, by bugs eating her rotting flesh.

She scared herself awake and now only partially understood what Nick must have gone through being buried alive with the ants biting him. She had been itching at her arms at invisible bug bites; chills ran up and down her spine.

She was stirred from her own dark thoughts when she heard Greg coughing again. She knew he was in bad shape. His breathing sounded horribly congested and he had started having chills, while still burning up.

They hardly spoke to each other, being that their mouths were so dry. A small ray of light telling them it was daytime, cracked through one corner of the door that trapped them.

Catherine wrapped her arms around Greg as he started shivering badly again. She could not cry anymore, she had cried herself out. She was cold herself. It was early November and in the mountains it was always much colder. They had not been dressed in really warm clothes. They both were in jogging pants from their jog before all went to hell. Catherine had on a long sleeve t-shirt, while Greg did have on a lightweight fleece jacket, but he had been soaked by the rain and he never shook the chill since then.

She held onto him until he stopped shaking again. "Thanks," she barely heard him say to her. He slept most of the time now, making her feel more alone than she already did. Her body ached all over now. She welcomed the sleep when it came but dreaded the strange, scary nightmares she had during that time. She had no idea if Greg had them too, but she assumed he did since he seemed to make noises during his sleep and was restless when he slept, like he had been with his nightmares after Tyler Renning cut him up.

She closed her eyes again, keeping her thoughts on more positive images such as her daughter Lindsay playing on the swings when she was young. She fell asleep fast with those images on her mind.

Grissom walked through the woods with Warrick, Brass, and a couple of officers with a German Shepard search dog. They had come across numerous old cabins some currently occupied, but most abandoned at this time.

They came across yet another one of those seemingly abandoned tiny cabins around 4pm in the afternoon. The officers noticed the dog getting more excited as they approached the door to the cabin.

"Captain, we may have something here," one officer said to Brass. Grissom, Warrick and Brass all came up behind the officers.

Brass moved ahead of the officers, with his gun drawn, ready for anything. He knocked on the door first and announced himself. When there was no response he tried the doorknob. It turned freely in his hand. He opened the door slowly, with gun ready.

The dog behind him started barking. Once Brass saw that the small cabin was clear, he gave the okay for the dog to run in. The dog walked around the small room sniffing the ground. He came to a halt where a wooden chair sat. He started pawing at the floor.

Grissom and Warrick had come inside with hope finally showing a sign to them. They used their flashlights to illuminate the floor where the dog was pawing.

"It's a trap door to a cellar or basement. It has locks on it," Warrick told the others, trying to remain calm.

They pulled back the dog to get a better look at the door. "They are black locks so you can hardly make them out," Grissom noted. He noticed locks placed on three sides of the door.

"They wanted to make sure no one got to what is inside there," Grissom said.

"Or for no one to get out of there," Warrick added, anger hinging on his tone.

Grissom met his angry glare. "Possibly," Grissom said in his simple tone. He knelt down and decided to try knocking on the door while Warrick went to find his equipment to get the locks open.

He knocked but got no response. He did not really expect to at this time.

Warrick came back with a drill to unscrew the screws holding the locks down. He knelt down by Grissom and started working on the first lock.

It took him about five minutes to get them all done.

They all stood back a moment. Brass drew his gun. He pulled the latch on the trap door and opened it.

Grissom and Warrick shined their flashlights down into the darkness. They saw stairs but at the very bottom of the steps they saw two bodies they immediately recognized.

"Catherine! Greg!" Warrick exclaimed as he started making his way down the stairs, with Brass and Grissom right behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

Warrick raced down the stairs and went to Catherine first. She was lying down against the stairs, her head lying on the bottom stair. Warrick said her name while checking her pulse.

"She's alive but has a weak pulse," he told the others. Then he tried shaking her lightly to see if she might wake up. Warrick felt such relief when she cracked her eyes open.

Catherine could hear strange sounds and voices but in her confused and muddled mind she only thought it was a dream. She heard her name being called out but felt too weak to see where it was coming from. She felt someone touch her and then start shaking her. She finally opened her eyes up slightly and when she saw Warrick staring down at her, she figured she was dreaming.

"Hey there, Catherine. We got you. Everything's going to be okay now," Warrick spoke to her in a concerned soft voice.

She tried to say his name but her mouth was too dry and she felt too weak.

"Shh, you don't have to say anything," Warrick told her. Then he looked up at Brass. "Can you bring down some blankets and water?"

Brass nodded and ran up the stairs to get them.

Grissom had gone over to Greg, who was curled up on his side lying down on the cold cement ground. He felt for his pulse, which was also weak, but he noticed how warm his skin felt. He put his hand to his forehead and was alarmed at how hot it felt.

"Greg, can you hear me?" He looked him over and saw his bloodied pants leg. He pulled the pants up to get a better look. He saw what looked like bite marks, but the swelling was bad.

Grissom tried waking him, but he did not wake up. "We need medics here immediately," he yelled to no one in particular.

Warrick saw that Catherine had dried blood in her hair and on the side of her face.

Brass came down with the water and blankets. "Here. I also called off the other search teams and told them we found them." He looked over at Grissom who was by Greg. "Is he waking up?"

"No, he is running a high fever and his breathing sounds shallow."

"It might take awhile for the medics to get here, with the rough terrain and all," Brass told him, then looked at Greg, then at Catherine, who was barely lucid.

"Damn, it was only a couple months ago when these two were held by that Tyler Renning lunatic. Now this. Do you think it is a sign they should not be together?"

"They were not dating when Tyler took them hostage," Grissom pointed out.

Warrick gave Catherine a sip of water to wet her mouth some and wrapped a blanket around her. She took it very slowly and gratefully. After a little bit, she looked over at Grissom kneeling by Greg, noticing Greg not moving.

"Greg?" Her voice sounded small and raspy.

Grissom looked over at her and saw the fear in her eyes. "The paramedics will be here soon, Catherine to help him and you out. He'll be okay," he told her, but unsure of his own words.

She leaned back against Warrick and closed her eyes, feeling so overwrought with emotion at being found and yet worrying still about Greg. It was just all too exhausting to her causing her to pass out again.

Fifteen minutes passed before the paramedics arrived. Nick and Sara came at the same time. They let the paramedics run downstairs first and waited while they checked on Greg and Catherine.

Warrick and Grissom made way for the medics and stood by. During their wait, they studied the small cellar with their flashlights. They saw the lantern that had died but noticed nothing else down there with Greg and Catherine. They really had been left to die.

The paramedics brought down a stretcher one by one, taking Greg first since his condition was worse. "Any medical background you all know about these two?" One of the medics asked.

"Nothing major to know about Catherine, but Greg recently went through a long recovery and had his spleen removed about 2-3 months ago," Grissom told them.

The paramedic looked down at Greg, then at his fellow paramedic with concern. "Thanks, that's important information." They put Greg on the stretcher and carried him up the stairs. Then the second crew came down to get Catherine.

Once up stairs, Nick and Sara got a good look at their friends. They both looked pretty bad.

Warrick, Grissom, and Brass all came up from the cellar.

"Can one of us ride with each one of them?" Grissom asked the medics.

"Yeah, sure that will be fine."

"Good. Nick and Sara, stay behind here and collect what evidence you can find from the cabin here. I'll call you when they get settled."

They both knew there was nothing they could do for Greg and Catherine right now, but to find who did this to them.

At the hospital, Grissom and Warrick waited around for word on the conditions of their co-workers. Grissom had overheard the paramedics in the ambulance with Greg mention pneumonia and severe dehydration. They mentioned to him that people who no longer had their spleens were subject to getting infections and viruses mush easier due to their lower immune system.

After an hour, an ER doctor came out to talk to them. "Mr. Grissom, I am Dr. Marks. I was told you are the supervisor of Catherine Willows and Greg Sanders?"

"Yes, that is correct. How are they doing?"

"Ms. Willows and Mr. Sanders both, have serious dehydration issues. We currently have them both on intravenous fluids to start the replenishment. Ms. Willows also has a concussion, but with plenty of rest and time she should be fine. Mr. Sanders however has more complications. We have diagnosed him with pneumonia. He has fluid around his lungs and an infection. We've started him on antibiotics and we've had to put a chest tube in him to help drain the fluid. His prognosis will be watched carefully. With the bite on his leg from apparently a dog, we are going to run additional tests on him to rule out possibly meningitis."

"Meningitis? Dang," Warrick said under his breath.

"Yes, fortunately it seems Mr. Sanders has had his vaccine shot for it, but it was only a couple weeks ago, so there is still possibly for him to contract it with his really compromised immune system. I need to go now, but someone will come by and let you know their room numbers once they are settled in."

"Oh and there is one weird thing we noticed about both of them. Their shoulders are very bruised, deeply bruised in Greg's case, especially his right," the doctor told them.

Warrick gave Grissom an angry look. "They were trying to break down the door."

Grissom nodded slightly. "Yeah."

They thanked the doctor for the information.

"Whew, poor Greg. Guy can't catch a break anymore," Warrick said.

Grissom looked off down the hall. "Yeah, so it seems." He was worried about Greg, not so much physically but how he might handle this entire thing happening so soon to him mentally. His emotions had been running high since Tyler Renning attacked him. Greg was strong, but a person can only handle so much.

"Call Nick and Sara and fill them in. I have to call Catherine and Greg's families to let them know what happened," Grissom told Warrick.

"Sure, will. I'll see you in a bit," Warrick said as he walked to use the phone outside.

Grissom went down to the cafeteria to use his phone down there. He got a hold of Catherine's mom first. She was already aware of the situation, due to seeing it on the news. She was relieved to hear that they were both found alive. She told Grissom she would get Lindsay and they would come to the hospital as soon as they could.

His next call he dreaded more, calling Greg's mom. It had only been about two weeks since Greg's father died, now he needed to tell the poor woman her son was in the hospital again.

The phone rang and then a woman's voice came through. "Hello?"

"Hello. Mrs. Sanders? This is Gil Grissom from the Las Vegas Crime Lab."

"Yes, what's wrong?"

He could immediately hear her voice tighten up. "Mrs. Sanders, Greg was involved in an incident again. He is currently in the hospital here. He is sick more so than physically injured. The doctors told us he has pneumonia."

"I don't understand. You said something happened to him though, like job related, but you say he is sick?"

Grissom could understand her confusion. He really did not want to tell her over the phone what happened but he knew he would have to give her a short version now.

"Greg was with Catherine Willows when they were abducted by some people who had been on a crime spree in the city. They were not really injured but they were locked away in a cellar in a cabin in the forest, left to die there. They were locked in there for over 5 days before we found them. As you know, Greg's spleen was removed and…"

"His immune system is weaker due to it," she interrupted, seeing where he was going with this.

"Yes, that's correct," he simply replied.

"How bad is he?" Her voice quivered.

"I'm not the doctor but they said they had to run more tests on him."

"I see." She paused for a moment. "I'll be coming out there as soon as I can get a flight. Thank you for letting me know, Mr. Grissom."

After Grissom ended that call, he made a few more to Brass and Ecklie to fill them in on the two CSI's conditions.

He returned to the waiting area and found Warrick waiting there for him.

"Hey they said we could go in and see Catherine now. Greg is not ready to have visitors yet," Warrick told him.

"Okay good. Did Nick and Sara find anything that might help us catch these guys?"

"They found some hairs and rope, but no fingerprints. They are taking it all back to the lab now and then will come here."

"Good, let's go see how Catherine is doing," Grissom said motioning for Warrick to lead the way.

They entered her room and saw her sleeping. They came in quietly and stood by her bedside.

Warrick noted how sickly she looked due to the dehydration and having no food for days. Her face looked sunken in, her pale skin paler, if possible. They had a couple IV's going in her to recoup her nutrients and fluid in her body.

"At least we found them in time. Another day or two, dang," Warrick felt his anger building up again as he shook his head.

Catherine started to open her eyes. She cracked them open and saw Grissom and Warrick standing there. She though she might have been dreaming if it was not for the beeping of the machines around her.

"Welcome back, Catherine. Both you and Greg are safe now," Grissom said to her with a smile.

They mentioned Greg being safe too, so she figured he was in the hospital somewhere too. She still wanted to ask about him too.

They saw her trying to talk and immediately told her to rest and not to try to talk. They knew she was still too weak and needed the rest.

"If you were going to ask about Greg, he is in another room here, recovering just like you," Grissom confirmed for her before she tried to talk.

"Yeah we just wanted to see you and let you know you're going to be okay. Once you are up to talking fully, we will ask you about what happened back there. But for now we just want you to get better. Your mom and Lindsay will be on their way," Grissom said.

She nodded slowly and gave them an appreciative smile.

"Nick and Sara will probably stop by later on. Take care," Warrick told her.

They left her as she dozed off again in much needed sleep.

The doctor met them out in the hallway. "You can see Greg now, however only one person at a time for him. He's sleeping and I doubt he will wake up anytime in the next few hours, but if you still want to go and see him, you are welcome to. We did a spinal tap and luckily he does not have meningitis. But his pneumonia is pretty serious, so he is getting oxygen therapy, just to let you know."

"Thanks Dr. Marks," Grissom said.

Dr. Marks told him Greg's room number and left them to check on other patients.

Grissom went on ahead first to see Greg. He walked in and realized how different Greg had looked with a 5-day beard growth on his face. It was not much, but more than Grissom ever saw him with. An oxygen mask was on his face and he had a couple more tubes attached to him than Catherine had.

As he stared at Greg's pallid skin and sunken eyes, he felt sadness wash over him. Greg was only 32 years old; his youngest CSI and he had been through more than anyone should have to go through. He realized he had not told Greg how proud he was of him and how well he did his job. He would have to tell him when he was awake.

He sat in the chair a couple minutes, noticing how Greg's breathing was still rough and short. He knew his recovery would take longer due to his low immune system. He just hoped he would fully recover.

He finally got up and said a quiet goodbye and get well to him and left to let his next visitor in.

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

A few hours later, Nick was sitting at Greg's bedside. He was reading a book. Greg had woken up earlier when Sara was in the room, but he was not really responsive and pretty much was asleep again within minutes.

Greg's head swam with distorted images of his time locked away in the cellar with Catherine. He pictured Catherine's face all puffy and red, her eyes bulging out. He suddenly wanted to get away from her, as she told him they would get out. She was trying to hold him and he was batting her away as fangs came out of her mouth.

Nick noticed a change in the heart monitor sound and saw Greg's head moving slightly, but his eyes were still closed. Nick reached over and laid his hand over Greg's.

"Hey Greg, wake up. It's just a dream."

Greg's eyes suddenly opened up. He felt his hand being held. He looked over and saw Nick.

"Hey buddy, it's okay. You're in the hospital. So is Catherine, she's going to be fine. You just need to take it easy," Nick said to him in a calming voice.

Greg relaxed his body some when he realized he was not in his nightmare anymore. He brought his hand to his face and slipped off his oxygen mask to talk.

"How long have I been here?" His voice cracked.

"You've been here about a day, I'd say. You woke up earlier, but you did not seem really coherent at the time."

Greg did not remember that. He felt like he was in a fog right then as it was.

"How's Catherine?" He asked Nick.

"She is tired and weak but she'll be fine the doctor's say. I'm sure she'll be by to see you as soon as they let her."

"That's good," Greg said, but then started coughing violently.

Nick got a bit alarmed at how bad he sounded. "Put your oxygen mask back on and stop trying to talk before you kill yourself coughing, dang!"

Greg glared at him but did put the mask back on.

"I hear your shoulder is really bruised up. You tried hard to get out of there, didn't you?" Nick asked him.

Greg nodded at him.

"Yeah I know how it feels to be trapped like that," Nick said reflectively.

Greg slid off his mask again. "I'm sorry, Nick."

"No, no don't be sorry, man. It's not your fault. I guess some of us just have shitty luck, some more than others."

"Yeah," Greg said so softly Nick hardly heard him. Then he slid the mask back on.

Nick stared at Greg a moment then smiled widely. He had to chuckle at him and his beard. "Now I know why we've never seen you with facial hair. You look like hell with that fuzz on your face. Get someone to help you shave that off."

Greg gave him a dirty look but then smiled, finally nodding his head in agreement. Nick could see him falling asleep again.

"Look I'll check in with you tomorrow. Just get better soon, okay."

Greg nodded again. Nick waved goodbye to him.

Around the same time, Grissom and Brass were with Catherine, asking her about what happened. She told them how they were both taken by surprise separately and taken to that cabin.

She filled them in on what the men told them about why they took them then left them there. After giving as many details as she could to them, they asked her if she could describe them.

"Well, Greg said the one guy was the same from the incident at my house. The other guy was about 6'1", black hair with really light blue eyes and a scar across his cheek. If I saw him again I would not mistaken him." She told them.

"Good, we'll have you go through photos then and see if you recognize him," Brass said to her.

She nodded to them. "I have to ask, how did you all find us?"

"Well when you two did not come into work or even call, that raised suspicions. Then no one was able to contact either of you, we figured something was up. Nick told us how Greg had plans for a getaway for you two so we checked his charges and saw a charge at the Lodge. When we got to the cabin we knew something was wrong for sure."

"Once the media got a hold of you two missing, we got a letter from your guys. They basically said what they told you two, that your disappearance was their doing and it was a message to anyone in the mob."

"We focused on the mountain area and brought in search dogs, searching a 10 mile radius per day. The dog caught your scents at that cabin and then we found you," Grissom finished telling her.

"I was pretty much giving up hope of being found. You came just in time, thank you," Catherine told them with tears in her eyes.

"Well we are glad to have you two back. We were really worried we might not find you two in time either," Grissom admitted.

Nick came through the door. "Hey I just wanted to let you all know I just came from seeing Greg. He finally woke up completely and talked a little. He asked about you, Catherine. I told him you would be fine." He smiled at her, seeing some relief on her face.

"That's great, Nick. Did he seem okay?" Catherine asked him.

Nick shrugged. "I guess. His cough is still pretty nasty sounding. I told him to stop talking and just keep his oxygen mask on." Nick grinned. "He did not stay awake too long. He's still pretty weak it seems and the coughing seems to take more out of him."

"Yeah, that's how he was when we were locked up too. I'm just glad he is getting antibiotics now. I knew he was worse than he was letting on."

"Yeah he does that but both of you are back with us now and on the road to recovery," Grissom told her.

She smiled a little at them. She was getting tired again. They noticed this and bid her goodnight for the day, letting her get her needed rest now that they had something to go on.

She walked quietly into his room. Upon first seeing him, her heart stopped a moment, seeing her only child frail and in need of an oxygen mask for breathing.

She slowly approached his bedside and sat in the chair. Pamela Sanders stared at her son, taking in the deep dark circles under his eyes, to the fading bruise on his left jaw, and finally the oxygen mask from which he breathed. She pressed her lips together, trying to keep her emotions in check. She gently took his hand in hers. She felt more at ease feeling his warmth.

She saw her son's beautiful brown eyes open up. She smiled at him as he spotted her.

Greg was shocked to see his mother there at his bedside. He slid off his oxygen mask. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

"Your boss, Mr. Grissom told me about what happened to you and your girlfriend. I had to come and see you. You're all I have left." Greg saw the tears form in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Greg said quietly, feeling guilty for her sorrow.

She shook her head. "No, don't be sorry. None of this is your fault, Greg. I will not have you do that to yourself."

Greg nodded his head, willing himself to try to stay calm. His mom being there made it hard for him to do it though. He always got nervous for some reason. He started coughing again as he took in deeper breaths. Coughing still made his chest hurt.

His mom now heard how bad his cough really was and could tell he was in pain. "Greg, you probably should not be talking. I just wanted to be here for you."

"Can you get water for me?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

"Sure," she reached over and got the glass and poured some water in it. She fixed the straw so he could drink from it.

His first swig of water earlier when the nurse had stopped by and checked his leg wounds and helped him shave, felt raw going down his throat. It had been 5 days that he had had any. The nurse told him to not do too much all at once. He would be having his first soft meal later that day, he had been told.

He took the cup from his mom and slowly sipped the water, relishing how good it felt this time around going down. "Thanks," he told her once his throat felt a bit better.

"How have you been doing?" Greg asked her.

She was surprised and amazed that he was thinking of her well being when he was the one in the hospital bed.

"I've been doing okay. Just been lonely mostly, but I'm not here to talk about me. I'm here to talk about you. How are you really doing?"

He was going to shrug his shoulders, but then the pain in his right one reminded him not too. "I've been better. I've been worse," he said non-affectedly.

She stared at him as he avoided looking at her. It was something he always did since he was a child when he did not want to talk or was lying.

"Fine, you don't have to talk about it now, but at some point you will and I just want you to know that if you need me, I will be sticking around for awhile," she told him.

He gazed at her now, his mother. She was a strong woman, stronger than he gave her credit for. He realized suddenly how he cheated himself the last few times he was hospitalized by not having her around. She made him uncomfortable in some ways due to her concern, but it was that same concern that made him feel loved, a feeling he needed right then.

"Okay, I can live with that," he told her.

She smiled at him. "Good, because you really have no choice."

He cracked a smile. "I thought so."

She started to get up to leave. "I'll let you get some more rest and stop by later. I just want you to get better."

"I know. I love you, Mom." She saw his eyes tear up a little. She leaned over and kissed him on his forehead.

"I love you too, son. I'll see you later."

He watched her leave then slipped his oxygen mask back on and closed his eyes to sleep.

"Any new leads on the guys who are responsible?" Sara asked Grissom as she met him in his office.

"Well Catherine is going to go through photos today and see if she recognized this other guy. Brass and I are going to talk to Greg later on and get his side of the story. Maybe he will have something new to help us out."

"The doctors said the antibiotics are working for him and he is improving," Sara told him.

"Yeah that is what I heard too. That is why we are going today to talk to him about it."

Warrick came into Grissom's office. "Hey, we got something. Wendy got a hit through CODIS on a hair found at the cabin. It belongs to a Troy Drye. He was arrested for disorderly conduct three years ago. He's also been arrested for possession of a firearm while at work. That was a year ago. He worked at the Tangiers."

Grissom and Sara gave surprised glances at Warrick.

"Really? So what happened? Was he fired?" Sara asked Warrick.

Warrick nodded. "He was because he got in an argument with management afterward. The same manager still works at the Tangiers. Nick is headed over there now with Detective Vaartan."

"Do we have a photo on him?" Grissom asked.

Warrick took one out of the folder he was holding. "Sure do." He gave Grissom the photo. He looked just as Catherine had described him.

"I'll take a copy of this over to Catherine and Greg today. This is a big break. Guy was not as neat and clean ad he thought he was."

The new information was passed onto Brass who immediately put an APB out on him. Once that was done they were headed over to the hospital to confirm with Catherine this was their guy.

* * *

_A/N- Thanks to the loyal readers and the new ones who have come across this and Lust for Blood and left their comments. This story is turning out to be a lot longer than the first one. I found out I had a lot more I wanted to cover in this one. _

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

At the hospital, Catherine looked at the photo. "Yeah that is him, alright. He even has the scar in that photo." Catherine pointed out.

"Well, we already have an APB out on him, so hopefully between the two guys, one will get caught. Of course nabbing both is best." Brass said.

"So he worked at Sam's resort. Now I know why he disliked him so much. But there has to be more to it."

"I'm sure there is. We will figure it out," Grissom assured her.

"We're going to talk to Greg now. Warrick and Nick said they would stop by later on and visit."

"Send Greg my love," she said as they left her. She would be glad when she would be able to see him herself.

When they came into Greg's room, he was sitting up in his bed watching TV. He no longer had the oxygen mask. Instead he had the nasal tube supplying a lower oxygen level for him.

"Hey guys," he greeted them as they entered his room.

"Hi Greg. Good to see you are feeling better," Grissom said to him.

"Yeah a bit. I guess you two are here to ask me about what happened."

"Yes Greg, we are," Brass responded.

Greg turned off the TV and asked them where they wanted him to start. They told him wherever he thought was appropriate.

He decided to start on their drive to the Lodge, since that was when he first spotted the Tahoe following them. He started with that and told them everything he could up until the lantern burnt out in the cellar.

He showed very little emotion during the whole thing, but afterward he felt drained.

He had not realized his mom had come in towards the beginning. She had hid behind Grissom and Brass. She knew that if Greg had spotted her he would have stopped telling everything. She also knew if she asked him to tell her what happened, he would leave out things with her. This way she heard all the terrible details.

Grissom turned around to leave and saw an attractive woman around his age standing there. "I'm sorry, can I help you?"

Greg saw her standing there. "Mom?" He said with surprise at seeing her.

Grissom looked at Greg then back at the woman he called mom. He suddenly saw the resemblance in the eyes. "Mrs. Sanders, so nice to finally meet you. Sorry about your husband. I am Gil Grissom and this is Captain Jim Brass."

Brass excused himself as his cell phone rang.

"How long have you been here?" Greg asked his mom. He wondered how much she had heard.

Her eyes met her son's. "I heard most of it and I am glad I did because you would have left stuff out if I asked you to tell me."

Greg lowered his eyes, hating that she was right.

Grissom felt awkward in the moment now so he was glad when his pager went off. "I'm sorry. I need to respond to this. Nice meeting you again, Mrs. Sanders. And Greg, one more thing." He pulled out the photo of Troy Drye.

"Is this one of the men?"

Greg saw the photo and gulped. "Yeah that is him."

"Thank you. Catherine already confirmed too. We will let you know when we find these guys. Take care."

"Thanks," Greg told him. He watched Grissom leave and his mom come in to sit down. He glared at her.

"I know you're mad I snuck in to listen, but I know you and you would have spared me the ugly details. See, like you would not have told me that you beat up your shoulder trying to get out of there. Or that you were bitten by that dog, would you?"

"Okay so are you happy you heard everything or do you want more? Do you want to know what it feels like to be starving and dying of thirst? How much it even hurts to swallow? Or what it is like to watch the person you love, dying?" The second it left his lips he regretted saying it. He saw the stunned look on his mother's face and wished he had died instead of letting his pent up frustration and anger get out and hurt her.

He immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean it. I just… I don't know. I am sorry," his voice cracked as emotion overran him. He sunk his head back in the pillow and squeezed his eyes shut. His head pounded worse now from a headache that had been brewing for a while. He tried to hold back the tears but could not.

"I'm sorry," he said again through a sob.

She watched her son break down in tears before her for the second time in a month. It tore her up inside to see him so emotionally fragile. She took his hand and squeezed it.

"It's okay. I know you did not mean it. I just wish I could make everything you've been though disappear for you. It kills me to see you suffering like this."

He looked over at his mom, who also had tears in her eyes. "What a pair we make," he chuckled a little.

She smiled back finally. "At least you still have your sense of humor."

His smile faded. "If I lose that, I have nothing left."

"That's not true, Greg. You have a lot to give and I am sure Catherine would agree," she said to him.

He sighed. "I have not seen her in a few days now since I've been in the hospital. They keep telling me she is okay, but I'd like to see for myself, you know?"

"Yeah I know." She noticed he seemed to be having a hard time keeping his eyes open again. "You know, I think you need some sleep again. I promise I won't eavesdrop on anymore of your conversations."

He smiled. "Thanks. So where are you staying while you are here?"

"Oh at the Hilton."

"You can stay at my apartment if you want."

"No, that's okay. I am fine at the hotel, but thanks. I'm going to go now and let you rest some more. Get better, okay? I love you," she kissed him on his forehead again.

He said goodbye to her and watched her leave. He closed his eyes then and slept.

The news flashed his picture on it, saying he and his accomplice were wanted for the kidnapping of two CSI's and possibly other crimes, including murder. He threw his glass across the room, the glass breaking into pieces as it hit the wall.

"Damn it! Those two lived and now they know who I am. We are going to have to leave town sooner than I wanted to," Troy stormed off into the other room.

Will continued to watch the news report. He petted Rage on the head, thinking all the while that perhaps it was time to break ties with his dear old cousin. He had no previous record and they still did not have his name. He had a better chance of staying free as long as he got away from Troy, who's face was everywhere now.

He would have to figure out where he wanted to head first and then the how and when. He could not let Troy catch on to his mutiny. If he knew, he would be dead before he for anywhere.

Catherine's mother and daughter visited with her for an hour. They came bringing flowers and a teddy bear, Lindsay's idea. They were going to see Greg but he was having tests run, so they spent longer with Catherine.

Catherine slept for a while, but was woken up by her nightmare. In her dream, they were still in the cellar and Greg was being eaten alive by bugs. She had been having similar dreams the last two days. She really wanted to see Greg for herself to see that he was okay.

When the nurse came in to check on her, she asked her if she could visit Greg yet. The nurse told her she would check with the doctors and find out.

The nurse came back 20 minutes later with a wheelchair. "Guess what, are you ready to make that visit?" The nurse smiled at her.

Catherine was so thrilled to get a chance to see him.

He was resting his eyes, listening to his iPod when he felt someone touch his hand. His eyes sprung open surprised when he saw Catherine. He quickly pulled out his ear buds.

"Hey! Wow, it's really you!" He had a thousand mega-watt smile on his face.

When she first saw him, she thought how thin he looked, up close now she definitely saw it by how defined his face looked. She knew she looked thinner too but he looked worse. Of course he was still fighting off pneumonia, but seeing him smile made her feel so much better.

"Yeah it is really me, in the flesh, albeit a bit thinner and sleepier."

"Well I think that goes for me too." He reached his hand out to stroke her cheek. "Gosh, I missed you so much. I am so glad they finally let you come see me. They won't let me do much until they take this chest tube out of me."

She looked to where he was gesturing. "Does it hurt?"

"Only when I cough, otherwise I hardly notice. They got me on a lot of different meds and painkillers. That's why I sleep so much."

"How's your leg and shoulder?" She asked him. She felt better hearing directly from him how he was then the report from everyone else.

"They both hurt still as does most of my body. I just feel like a truck rolled over me, but the meds are working pretty well. I can just tell when they wear off. How about you? How's that hard head of yours?" He asked with a little grin.

"I'm feeling better everyday. I've got headaches still bit nothing too bad. And at least I can now eat solid foods," she said happily.

"Ah, I am still on baby food," he frowned.

She grinned at his comment. Then they just stared at each other in a grateful, loving gaze, basically saying without any words that they both were safe and happy to be alive.

After a minute, Catherine spoke again. "So Lily and Lindsay came to see you, but you were out having tests run."

"Bummer, I would have liked to have seen them," he said.

"Well, I am sure they will be by again. Grissom told me your mother was here." She watched as his expression became more solemn.

"Yeah, she's been here a couple of times now."  
She knew something was bothering him. "What's wrong?"

He stared at the wall. "I sort of blew up at her and said some things I did not mean to."

Catherine nodded her head slowly. "I see. Hmm, similar to how you did with me after Tyler Renning put you in the hospital?"

He turned his head slowly to look at her. She did not look mad, but understanding his reaction. "Yeah like that," he said sheepishly.

"I figured. Greg, you're human. Things have not been easy for you lately, to say the least. You're going to have moments of emotional outbursts. I'm sure your mother understands that."

He lowered his head. "She does and she knew I did not mean to hurt her, but it hurts me to know that I did."

Catherine could see how upset he was about it. "I know but feeling that hurt shows just how much you didn't mean it."

"I suppose." He sighed. Then he looked directly at her again. She looked tired. "How have you been sleeping?"

She quirked her mouth. "So-so I guess you could say."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Nightmares?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I've been having them a lot. You haven't?" She asked him.

"Not much really. I think the drugs are putting me in a deeper sleep than usual. We'll see what happens when I'm not on as many drugs." He declared raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah perhaps that is why. Anyways. I think Grissom would like my dreams, somehow."

Greg chuckled. "What?"

"Well, my dreams have lots of bugs in them for some reason," she shrugged.

"Ah I see." Greg knew she had been crept out down in the cellar by the spiders crawling around and occasionally on them. For some reason they had not bothered him that much.

The nurse came into the room. "Okay, Ms. Willows, time to take you back to your room."

Greg pouted. "Will you see me again?"

Catherine smiled at him. "Of course I will. They said I would probably be able to go home in another day and finish up the rest of my recovery there."

"Lucky, I'm always here longer than you. What's up with that?" He moaned.

She grinned. "I don't know. I think you have a secret lover here."

"No! Only you. I'll see you soon then," he told her, giving her hand a tight squeeze.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon. Get well okay. You look like hell," she smirked.

"Gee thanks, I love you too."

She smiled and kissed his hand. "Back at you." And then the nurse wheeled her out of the room.

Greg felt a lot better having seen Catherine finally. He closed his eyes and thought about the day they should have had up at the Lodge instead of the one they did have. He hoped they could make up that day.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N-I've actually finished writing the story now. So I will be posting chapters more often.

* * *

Troy woke up after a night of drinking with Will. Will said they needed to loosen up a little and stop stressing so much. Little did Troy know that during Troy's drunken stupor, Will decided to make his getaway with most of the money and taking his dog, Rage with him. 

Troy got out of the bed, holding his aching head in his hands. "Will, where are you?" He called out, not seeing him anywhere in the small room they were staying in.

He started getting suspicious and decided to check the closet where the moneybag was. He opened the closet door and saw the bag was not there nor was Will's personal bag.

Troy slammed the closet door shut and stormed over to the table where his cell phone was. He picked it up and went to call Will's phone. Suddenly he heard ringing. He followed the sound and found Will's cell phone placed nicely on the bathroom sink.

Troy threw the phone against the wall, furious. Will took off with the majority of the money they got from the previous ransom. All Troy had left was what he put away in the lockbox in his truck.

"I'll kill you, you little bastard when I find you," he yelled out loud. He looked at the time and realized Will had at least 5 hours to get far away. He cursed some more before calming down some and figuring out what he should do. His face was all over the Las Vegas news and even though he had bleached his hair blonde to look different, he knew he should get out of town. But he was pissed and did not have enough money now to get far. He decided to lay low for a few weeks and plan what to do next.

-----------------------------

A couple days had passed and Catherine was being released from the hospital. Greg was improving and they had removed the chest tube. He expected to be released in another day or two.

Catherine stopped by with Lindsay and Lily before they took her home.

"Hello Greg! Glad to hear you will be out of here soon too," Lily said to him.

He smiled. "Thanks. I'm looking forward to being out of here."

"Will you be staying with us again?" Lindsay asked him.

He looked at Catherine with uncertainty. "Uh, probably not this time. I think my mom is sticking around to help me out and make sure I behave."

Lindsay's face dropped. "Oh."

Catherine rubbed her daughter's back. "He'll still visit us, I am sure," she said as she looked at Greg.

"Yeah of course I will."

"Okay, cool," Lindsay, said more happily.

"Uh Lindsay, why don't you come with me and we can get the car pulled up to the entrance so your mom does not have to walk as far to the parking garage," Lily said to give Catherine a little alone time with Greg before they left.

Lindsay nodded and followed her grandma out.

"So your mom already spoke and claimed you for this recovery period, huh?" Catherine grinned. She had yet to meet the woman but was glad she was sticking around for Greg.

He sighed. "Yeah, she is. She insisted," he said as he rolled his eyes.

Catherine thought his reaction was funny. "You'll be fine. Stop your whining. You just lost your dad. You should cherish the time you have with her and taking care of you probably will help her deal better."

"Yes, you make a good point. You just make sure you take it easy for awhile too," he said while rubbing his thumb over her cheek.

"I will. My mom and Lindsay will make sure of it."

Greg noticed someone come in the room. He looked up and was surprised to see his mother.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt," she said as she stood in the doorway.

"Uh, Mom, this is Catherine Willows." He looked at Catherine, registering her surprise.

"Catherine, this is my Mother, Pamela Sanders."

Pamela Sanders came over to Catherine with her hand extended. "Pleased to meet you," she said to Catherine with a smile.

Catherine shook her hand. "Pleased to meet you too." Catherine felt awkward suddenly meeting Greg's mom, noticing she was not too much older than herself.

Pamela smiled. "I've heard so much about you. I really appreciate the love and support you gave my son after he was hurt so badly before."

Catherine smiled then looked at Greg, who seemed to be watching the interaction between the two with great curiosity. "Well thank you, he can be a handful at times, but he's worth it."

His mom looked at him then too. "Yes, that is so true."

Greg scowled, suddenly not finding the conversation as amusing.

Pamela looked back to Catherine again. "Are you going home today?" He asked as she noticed she was in regular clothes.

"Yes, I am. My family is downstairs getting the car ready."

"Well, I will let you two be alone then and I will come back in a few minutes. Again nice finally meeting you," Pamela said before leaving the room.

Catherine turned to Greg, who had remained unusually quiet during the last couple of minutes. "You sure were quiet while she was here," she smirked.

"Well, you two were doing fine on your own," he said with an unfriendly grin.

"Awkward, huh, me and your mom meeting? Well it was for me I know too, but now I know where you got those beautiful brown eyes from."

She watched him as he blushed. He always did whenever anyone complimented him.

Lindsay came back. "Hey are you ready to go?" She asked her mom.

"Yes, I am." Catherine turned to Greg. "I'll stop by tomorrow and see you. Love you," she gave him a quick kiss. "Stay out of trouble," she grinned.

"I'll try," he replied, frowning. "You take care too."

"I always do," she smiled and then waved goodbye to him as she let Lindsay wheel her out of the room in a wheelchair.

He stared at the door for a few minutes after she left, suddenly feeling very alone again. Somehow knowing she was in the hospital, even if in a different room than him, made him feel better.

He finally stopped staring at the door and closed his eyes to rest until his mother came back.

Catherine lay awake in bed, not wanting to have another nightmare. She had not had as many nightmares in the last couple of nights, but usually one would come at some point. She ended up turning on the TV in her room instead of going back to sleep.

She flipped through the numerous channels looking for anything interesting. She came across _Braveheart_ playing on a channel. She smiled thinking back to the time she came home and Greg had been asleep on the sofa, watching that movie. That had been just after he got out of the hospital. He had been extremely emotional and had a hard time dealing then. She thought about how much better he was handling things this time around.

This time around she was a bit more affected than she had been last time. Those hours they spent in mostly darkness really affected her. She had to sleep with a light on now or hated being in a dark room for any period of time.

She looked at the clock and it was only 3:26 am. She wondered how she would handle going back to work. Places were always darker at night. She shook her head trying not to think about it now. It would be something she would discuss with her therapist that she was required to see.

She settled back in her bed and decided to try to sleep while the TV was on.

Grissom decided it was time to check in on his youngest CSI again. He had not had time to visit him in a few days.

He walked into Greg's room. Greg saw him and seemed surprised.

"Hi Grissom. I was not expecting you," Greg said to him as he came to stand by his bed.

"Well, I heard you will be released tomorrow and since I have not been by in a few days I figured it was time to see how you were doing for myself," Grissom said to him.

"I see. Well, I'm doing much better than I was. Pneumonia is mostly cleared up now. My leg still hurts some as does my shoulder, but okay I guess otherwise," he said nonchalantly.

"That's good to hear. How are you otherwise?" Grissom eyed Greg carefully figuring his answer to this would not be taken as well.

Greg felt a little mad but expected this from Grissom. "I'm fine, Grissom, really."

Grissom was surprised at his response, but also leery. He was hoping Greg was not lying to him. "Still you will be required to see…"

"I know, I know, a therapist/physiatrist, whatever," Greg interrupted nodding his head, getting more irritated by the second.

Grissom raised his eyebrow. "It's just procedure, Greg and for your own good."

Greg sighed; feeling tired all of the sudden. "Okay," was all he said. He was not on as many medications anymore and the last two days nightmares started creeping back into his sleeping pattern. He was not in the mood to argue.

Grissom thought that perhaps it was a good time to make good on what he said he would do earlier during Greg's hospital stay.

"Greg, you've become a really good CSI. I'm proud of what you have accomplished. I just want to make sure you will be fine when you get back out in the field."

Greg looked at Grissom with a shy appreciation. "Thanks for saying that and I know you're just concerned. I guess I get sick of everyone fawning over me. It's been happening far too much lately, if you know what I mean."

Grissom smiled at him. "Yeah, I know. It's been a rough year for you."

"Rough, understatement of the year," Greg snorted.

"Perhaps a poor choice of words but nonetheless still true," Grissom nodded slightly to him.

"Yeah," Greg agreed solemnly.

Grissom noticed he was looking tired, so he excused himself.

"Get some rest. I'll be in contact with you in a few days at your home."

Greg gave him a small smile. "Okay, Thanks for stopping by, Grissom."

"You're welcome Greg. Glad you are doing better." With that said, Grissom left Greg and the hospital.


	17. Chapter 17

Greg's mother was starting to drive him crazy. He knew she meant well but she was constantly checking on him to make sure he was feeling okay. He wasn't completely but he lied to her just to get her off his back.

Since he got out of the hospital and his mother spent half the day with him at his apartment, he thought he would be okay. But his nightmares were increasing and so was his stress level.

He brought them up to Dr. Felix in his first session with him that morning. Of course, the doctor told him it was normal for what he had been through. It did not make Greg feel any better about it. After his first visit, Greg knew why he hated seeing a psychiatrist; they were useless to him.

He sat on his sofa, watching TV. Luckily his mom left him for a while so he had some alone time. A knock came on his door. He dragged himself up, limping on his still pained leg, to the door.

He looked through the peephole and saw Catherine. He opened the door for her.

"Why didn't you use your key?" He asked her as she entered.

"Well, with your mom being here I did not want to. Where is she anyway?" She came in and noticed his place looked the cleanest she ever saw it.

Greg sat back down on his sofa. "She went shopping or something. I'm just glad she is gone for a while. She's driving me crazy now. I love her but this is why I did not want her to know previous times. She can be so overbearing."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" She asked him as she sat next to him.

"Perhaps," he sighed. "I don't know. I just do not want to hurt her feelings again."

She watched as he winced when he lifted his right leg up to rest on a pillow he had sitting on the coffee table. "Your leg still hurts a lot?" She questioned him.

"Yeah seems to hurt more now than before. Probably because I'm not on as good drugs," he pouted.

"How about the rest of you?"

He shrugged. "Okay I guess."

"That does not sound too convincing," she smirked.

"It wasn't supposed too," he grinned back. He stared at her a moment, while she gave him a concerned look.

"Look, I'll be fine. What about you? How's that head of yours doing?"  
She subconsciously put her hand to her head where she was hit. "Still have a tiny bump and get a headache at times but overall I am doing much better."

"When are you going back to work?" He asked her.

"Well, that's one reason I am here to talk to you," she said with a serious look.

"What's wrong?" He asked, suddenly slightly alarmed.

"It's nothing bad really, actually good for me. The day shift supervisor left to go to another city and they offered me the position. It's been something I've been promised for ages now and it's finally come." She smiled with hesitancy on his reaction.

"That's great, Catherine!" He gave her a congratulations kiss. He knew she had wanted this forever now.

"You know what this means though, we will hardly get a chance to see each other with our schedules."

"We'll find time somehow. It'll be okay. You deserve this, Catherine. Don't let me stand in the way," he told her.

"No, I already accepted it. I just wanted to let you know and see how you felt about it."

"I'm happy for you, really I am." He said with his eyes wide and smiling. "So when do you start?"

"On Monday, so just a couple of days."

"Great, well I can't wait to hear how it goes for you. You'll be great." He smiled with pride for her.

She hugged him. "I'm glad you are happy. I was worried how you might take the news, that's why I came by to tell you in person. Unfortunately I can't stay long. I got a doctor's appointment."

He frowned. "No time for hanky panky?"  
She chuckled. "No not now. I'll call next time and we can schedule it."

"Schedule it? Wow, that sounds bad," he laughed.

"Well, you know what I mean, with your mom around and all," she shrugged.

"Yeah I know, believe me, I know," he rolled his eyes.

They kissed goodbye and she let herself out so he would not have to get up with his bad leg again.

He sat there in a thought filled silence. They would not be able to see each other as much anymore. Perhaps it was a good thing. It seemed whenever they were together bad things happened or so he thought in his mind. He was sick of bad stuff happening to them. Day shift had fewer incidences. Hopefully she would be luckier now.

Another week had passed by and Catherine was finding it to be quite different on the day shift. She mostly spent time in her new office doing paperwork her predecessor left behind. She was sticking around longer than necessary this day to catch up on some of her paperwork, but mostly to see Greg when he came back to work for the first time since they were abducted.

Greg walked into the Las Vegas Crime Lab feeling a bit uncomfortable for some reason. He was feeling more like a stranger there since it seemed he was out of work so often lately.

He was halfway to the locker room when he ran into Nick.

"Hey Greggo! Welcome back buddy. Are you feeling better now?"

"Hey, I'm good. How's things been around here?" Greg asked as he walked with Nick to the locker room.

"Weird without you and now Catherine on days. So it will be really nice to have you back."

"Well, it's nice to be not at home having my mom fawn all over me."

"Okay, so your mom is still here?"

Greg sighed. "Yes, but she plans on leaving Wednesday finally."

"I bet you will be glad when she is gone," Nick chuckled.

"Yeah. I haven't seen this much of her since I lived at home. It is a bit overbearing," Greg admitted.

"Well, glad you are back. I'll catch you later on," Nick said to him as he left him in the locker room.

Greg was just closing his locker when Catherine came in.

"Hey, I was hoping to catch you before I left," She gave him a hug.

It had been a few days since he had seen her. They had talked on the phone but not been able to see each other. She had been very busy with her new position. It felt good to hold her even for a little bit.

"Well, you caught me. How was your day today?"

"Still busy catching up on the paperwork and getting use to working with a new crew. I really miss everyone, though. It makes it hard," she confessed.

"Yeah, I know it had to be weird but at least your making more money and can spend more time with Lindsay, especially since she will be off to college in a little over a year."

"Yes that is true. Well good luck on your first night back. I'll call you later on," she told him. Nobody was around so they exchanged a quick kiss before she left.

As Greg walked through the halls on his way to Grissom's office, his co-workers welcomed him back. He smiled politely at all of them and thanked them, but it all felt a bit déjà vu to him and made him feel somewhat weird.

"Greg, glad to see you back. I gather you're leg is feeling well enough to get around okay," Grissom said.

"Yeah, it's okay now. I might not be able to run a marathon, but then again I never could before anyway," he grinned.

"Probably true, but in any case you are feeling up to being back on the job," Grissom said but in more of a questioning tone.

"Yes, I am," but even as Greg said it he was not convinced himself.

"Good, well you will be working a case with Warrick tonight. I already gave him the details. He came in early. He said he will meet you in the break room."

Greg nodded and said thanks to Grissom. Then he went to find Warrick.

"Hey Warrick," he exclaimed when he saw the tall black man in the break room.

"Greg, nice to see you back. You ready to head out to a scene?"

"Yes, what do we have?"  
"There was an armed robbery at the 7-11 on Lincoln Street. Something easy for your first day back," Warrick grinned.

"Gee, thanks," Greg said sarcastically.

Warrick chuckled and patted him on the back. "Let's get going."

Warrick had not been kidding that his first day back was easy. The robber was seen on the surveillance video clearly. He only wore a baseball cap on his head. The clerk was able to ID him by looking through photos. They found him hiding out in his neighbor's house. It was an easy slam-dunk for a night's worth of work.

When Greg got home, he called Catherine, knowing she wanted to hear how his first shift back was.

"Hey there! Did you sleep well while I was hard at work?" He asked her with a smirk she could not see.

"I slept well enough. Still taking some getting use to actually sleeping at night. At least my dreams have become kinder lately, not as buggy," she told him. She had talked to him about her nightmares some.

"Well that is good."

"So how was your shift?"  
"It was easy, a stupid criminal case. The guy is already in custody."

"Well that is nice. It is nice to have an easy shift after all we've gone through."

"Yeah, I guess it is," he replied. They talked a bit more before she had to go. They made plans to try to see each other when she was off in a couple of days and after his mom was gone.

Greg got through his first week of work fairly well. It seemed to be a slow week for major crimes, that or they were giving Greg all the easy cases to work on, but that was okay for him. He was tired from not sleeping well.

Since he had been back out in the field his nightmares seemed to be getting more frequent and worse. He told Dr. Felix this on his last session with him. He really did not like Dr. Felix. He felt his time with him was wasted, as he did not seem to be helping him at all. All he did was listen and nod. He annoyed Greg more than anything.

His time with Catherine was nice, but he was starting to feel that now with their schedules so different, their relationship might not last. He sighed, as he got dressed for work, assuming he was in for another slow day.

When he got to work, he was assigned a case with Nick. It was a DB was all he knew, in a residential neighborhood.

Detective Vega was already on the scene when they showed up. "Hey guys. A neighbor came over to this abandoned house to check on things when she saw the broken window. She reported vandalism. When our guys came out here and searched the whole house, they found a body in the basement. David is down there now with the body."

Nick led the way down the staircase. Greg hesitated at the top of the stairs. His heart started beating faster and suddenly he felt like he could not breathe.

Nick looked back up behind him and saw a very pale looking Greg. He understood immediately why he looked like a deer in the headlights. He came back up to Greg, laying a hand gently on his shoulder. Greg jumped at the touch.

"Greg," Nick said softly to him, trying to get his attention. Greg looked at Nick finally. "I know how you feel, man. The first time I had to go someplace underground after I was buried alive I was not sure I could handle it. I hesitated too, but I pushed those fears aside and went on with my job. I know you can too, Greg."

Greg stared at him for a moment, not feeling as brave as Nick had been. "I don't know."

"Come on Greg, just give it a try," Nick tried encouraging him. He was worried about him. He hoped he could do it.

Greg took a deep breath and nodded to Nick. Nick smiled at him and joined him as they went down the stairs.

It was a large basement. Once Greg saw that it was a lot larger than the space they had been kept in he felt better, but the smell struck him as he got to the bottom.

They walked over to Dave who was kneeling next to the very bloody body.

"Hey guys. Our Vic here looks to have been slashed up pretty good. The body has been here a while, at least a week."

The smell made that obvious too. Greg looked at the body of a male partially clothed and felt his chest constrict again. The man had deep, long lacerations all over his torso. Greg's mind flashed back to Tyler Renning running the knife down his back, that cold metal going through his flesh. He shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself.

Nick was examining the body more closely with Dave and had not noticed Greg frozen again. He finally realized he was not taking pictures. He looked over at him and got worried when he saw that Greg was just staring at the body. Then it struck him why it was affecting him so. Nick looked to Dave. "Hey Super Dave, you done here?"

Dave looked at him and then saw Greg's pallor and nodded. "Yeah I'm done. I'll be back for the body in a few." He got up and left Nick alone with Greg and the dead body.

Nick stood up and looked at Greg, who was still in a daze staring at the body.

"Hey Greggo, you okay there buddy?" He asked him, concern in the Texan's voice.

When he did not respond, he spoke to him again. "Greg, hey you here with me?"  
Finally Greg snapped out of it. All he has been picturing was himself in that situation, but finally he heard Nick talking to him. "Yeah I'm here."

"Look, if you cannot handle this I can call in someone else."

Greg shook his head, but was staring at the dead man still. "Just give me a minute to get myself together."

"Are you sure?" Nick was not sure Greg should be on the case if he was freaking out.

Greg nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine. Just give me a moment okay?"

"Okay, sure Greg." Nick hoped he would be okay. He decided to go back to examining the body.

Greg was absently rubbing his arms. He felt cold. His back was tingling, as though his scars were alive again. He closed his eyes and shook his head trying to get his own images out of his head. He did not understand why this was getting to him so like it was. He thought he was past it, even though it happened a little only 3 months ago.

He took a few deep breaths to calm his stomach and rapid heartbeat before he was able to do his job again.

Nick noticed he started taking photos of the crime scene. He was still pale but at least he was able to work again.

Greg tried not to get too close to the actual body itself. For some reason, he thought it might suddenly come to life and attack him. He started walking around the basement, following a blood trail. He came to the end of the trail and saw a knife but could not bring himself and pick it up and bag it.

"Uh Nick, I found our knife over here," he called out.

Nick came over and bent down to examine the knife. He picked it up and bagged it, much to Greg's relief. "I can't believe the guy would leave his weapon down here," Nick said.

"Maybe he wore gloves so he did not care or he just does not care if he gets busted," Greg shrugged, starting to feel calmer again.

"Well, we will find out once we get this back to the lab," Nick told him. He studied Greg for a moment, noticing the color came back into his face again.

"You doing better now?" Nick asked him.

Greg nodded, sheepishly. "Yeah, I don't know what came over me. Sorry about that."  
"Nah, don't apologize man. I know what it is like, believe me. I still have my moments, 3 years later." Nick smiled at him. "It's okay."

Greg returned the smile. "Thanks, makes me feel better knowing I'm just not loosing it."

Nick laughed. "I doubt it. Look, I'm going to call Dave to take the body away now. See if you find anything else."

Greg nodded and continued his search of the basement area. He took photos of the walls, which reminded him too much of the crime scenes that Tyler Renning and his girlfriend had left behind, blood splattered everywhere. He shivered a moment at the memories again, but then continued on.

After about an hour of collecting evidence they could find at the house, they headed back to the lab to process it.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N-To those still reading this story, I am glad you are enjoying it. You know Greg has been put through a lot and well...it is bound to take it's toll on him eventually. Well you can already see it happening and things will only get worse.

* * *

Nick glanced over at his passenger, who had been silently staring out the window on the drive back to the lab.

"Are you doing okay, Greg?"

Greg continued staring out the window. "Yeah I'm fine."

Nick was not convinced he was, but he did not want to agitate him. He knew how it felt for everyone to be constantly asking if you were okay.

Greg did speak to him after a couple minutes though. Greg gave Nick a serious look. "Are you going to tell Grissom about me freezing up like I did?"

"Why should I? You got past it and still did your job," Nick told him.

Greg smiled at him. "Thanks, I appreciate that Nick. I just don't want everyone worrying about me again."

"No problem," Nick grinned, then decided to change the subject.

"Did you see last weekend's game between the Texans and the Chargers?" Nick asked Greg to change the subject.

Greg smiled at him as they started talking about football.

When they got back to the lab, Greg took the knife over to Mandy to see if she could get any prints off of it. Then he headed over to trace to drop off some fibers they found on the ground near the victim.

"So Sanders, are they still giving you the baby cases?" Hodges sneered at him.

Greg narrowed his eyes at him, anger building. "It was a slow week, up until now, but no this is not an easy case, Hodges. This was a man who was tortured and died alone, handcuffed in a basement of an empty house. So why don't you shut the fuck up and see if you can find anything from those fibers that might lead us to who did this to him." Greg threw the evidence bag on Hodges table and stormed off.

Hodges stood shocked as he watched Greg's retreating figure storm down the hall. He wondered what he said to set him off so.

Greg was heading to the morgue next but detoured to the locker room. Grateful no one else was there he took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down. All he knew was that he was sick of Hodges poking comments at him when he had no idea what Greg dealt with on a daily basis. Greg could somehow picture himself in place of that man they found and that was not an image he could get out of his head and it was affecting his behavior.

Once he got himself collected again, he went to join Nick in with Doc Robbins at the morgue. "Hey," he said as he entered.

"Hey Greg. We just started," Nick said to him.

Greg came over slowly to where the body lay on the table. Greg looked at the deep lacerations all over the man's body and felt chills run down his spine. He tried shaking his own memories from his head but was not having success.

"The COD was due to massive blood loss. It appears he had been down there for a couple days. Your killer seems to have slashed the victim with no particular pattern," Doc Robbins told them.

Nick noticed Greg was in a daze, staring at the body. He nudged him, hoping to snap him out of it. It worked. Greg looked at Nick when he realized he was zoning out.

Nick could read in his eyes that he had been having his own flashbacks again. He did not want to say anything in front of Doc Robbins, so he turned his attention back to the autopsy.

"Have you found anything else that may be of interest to us?" Nick asked the medical examiner.

"I found a contusion on his head. Perhaps that is how he was taken; knocked out."

"That's possible. Do you have an ID on him yet?" Greg finally asked, refocusing on the case.

"Waiting on dental records," Doc Robbins told him.

When they finished up with Doc, Nick stopped Greg outside the door. "Hey, are you going to be okay working this case?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah I'm sorry, it's just that whenever I see the body I see myself. But I should be okay from here on out."

"Okay, but if at some point you can't, let me know."

"Sure, okay." Greg said to him, but hated feeling like suddenly Nick was going to be watching his every move and reaction. Greg sulked off to the break room to grab some much-needed coffee after his encounters.

He was thinking about what that guy must have gone through, knowing some of it all too well. He was startled when he heard his name called out.

"Greg, sorry I did not mean to surprise you," Sara said as she came to sit down at the table across from him.

Greg looked at her, his eyes wide. "Oh no, sorry. It's okay. Just in deep thought about a case."

"Yeah, I heard about it. A pretty grisly scene, huh?"

Greg wondered if Nick had told her his reaction to the scene and in autopsy. He hoped he kept his promise and did not.

"Yeah it was. There really are some sick people in this world," he said while staring into his coffee cup.

Sara noticed he seemed a bit distant. "Is everything okay, Greg?"

He suddenly jumped up. "Damn, will everyone stop asking me that? I am fine." He grabbed his coffee cup and walked away.

Sara sat there stunned by his reaction. He may have said nothing was wrong, but she did not believe it for a second. That was very unlike Greg to react like that.

She ran into Nick a little while later. "Hey Nick! What's up with Greg tonight? He practically jumped down my throat when I asked him if he was okay."

"Ah yeah. He's been a bit off today. I think our case shook him some, a little too close to home, if you know what I mean."

"Oh I see. Poor Greg. It can't be easy and then we keep hounding him if he is okay," Sara sighed.

"Yeah, well he does not like to talk about what happened to him in any case. I think the only person who he talks to is Catherine."

"Well at least he has her."

Nick nodded but added, "Yeah but since she is on days now they do not see much of each other, he was telling me."

Sara shrugged. "Maybe that is why he is more moody."

"Possibly, probably," Nick concluded. "We should probably just stop nagging him so much."

"Yeah, we can try that I guess," Sara, agreed.

"Let's do that for now unless he gives us a real reason to worry," Nick said.

Sara agreed and they proceeded to go back to work.

Greg felt exhausted when he got home. He threw his keys on the counter and went to the refrigerator and grabbed a cold beer. He went over to his sofa and sat down. He took a large gulp of his beer then set it down on his side table. He rubbed his hands over his face and then leaned back against on his sofa. He stared up at the ceiling for the longest time, thinking about being trapped in that cellar. Then about what it would have been like had Catherine never come back to that hotel room and had Tyler slashed his throat to bleed to death or in a place like that cellar. He could not stop thinking about it.

He finished up his beer and grabbed another. Maybe he could drink enough to shake the image for the time being. He did not want to try to sleep with that image in his head.

By the time he downed a 6-pack and a half he was falling asleep. The alcohol luckily cast him into a dreamless sleep.

He was startled away by his phone ringing. He cracked open his eyes to see the sunlight streaming in with the late afternoon sun. His head pounded as he grabbed for the phone which would not stop it's incessant ringing.

"Hello," he answered huskily.

"Greg, I'm sorry. Did I wake you? I thought you would have been awake by now," he heard Catherine say to him.

He looked over at his clock on his stereo and saw that it was already after 4pm. "I got to sleep later today," he said slowly as his own voice rattled his head.

"Are you okay? You don't sound so well," she said to him.

He gritted his teeth. "I am fine," he said to her trying not to sound angry.

"Okay, well I wanted to see if you wanted to come stay over here after you get out of work tomorrow. We have not been able to see each other much lately."

Greg was not sure he wanted to spend the day at her place. He knew she would analyze him and keep asking if he was okay and he was not in the mood for that. He was better being alone right now.

"I, uh, have a doctor's follow up appointment tomorrow after work and I was going to run some errands too," he lied to her.

"Oh, okay." He could hear the disappointment in her voice, but he did not care. He just wanted to get off the phone with her and nurse his pounding headache.

"Well, maybe on your days off we can get together then. I miss seeing you," she told him.

"Yeah, well I'll see what happens then. I should probably go now. I have to do a couple things before I go into work too, today." He really was not in a chatty mood.

"Oh okay." She wondered why he was trying to get rid of her. "I'll talk to you later on then."

"Yeah, I'll at least call you sometime tomorrow," he told her.

"Well, goodbye then. Have a good night at work. Love you," she said to him.

"You too. Bye," he said then hung up the phone.

He got up slowly and walked wobbly to the bathroom to relieve himself. Then he looked at himself in the mirror and saw how bad he looked. He ran his hand through his hair and decided the first thing he should do was take a shower to wake himself up.

When he finished with his shower, he looked in the mirror again and turned to look to see how his back looked, as he did very often. He kept hoping that one say the scars would disappear. Today was not that day. The long pink, fleshy scars covered mostly the left side of his back.

Catherine always told him they did not look that bad, but he knew she was only being kind. Every time he looked at them it was a permanent reminder of the hell he went through at the hands of Tyler Renning. Small scars also scattered his back from the explosion of the lab over 5 years ago. Then he looked down at his leg, at his still healing bite wound from the dog, Rage. That would leave a scar from his most recent harrowing experience.

The only thing that did not leave any scars behind was his beating by the gang known as the Fannysmackers. But the emotional scars were still there from that and all his other ordeals.

He sighed heavily and then lifted his head to finger dry his hair in the mirror. He looked in the mirror and his heart stopped a moment. He saw Tyler Renning standing behind him with a knife in his hand. Greg quickly spun around and no one was there. He looked back in the mirror and Tyler was gone.

He started breathing again and chuckled to himself that he was loosing it. He opened his medicine cabinet to grab his painkillers. He still had some pain in his leg and his constant back pain felt worse after sleeping uncomfortably on the sofa.

He realized he probably could account his vision of Tyler to his massive headache, which hopefully his Vicodin would take care of.

He popped a pill and swallowed it without water. Then he finished getting dressed, pulling out a graphic tee and jeans.

He still had a couple hours to kill before work so he brewed some coffee to wake up and watched the news while he paid some bills, keeping his mind off all his demons.

-----------------------------

Troy was getting restless laying low. He went out on occasion to a convenience store to grab some food and things for himself, but otherwise he stayed in.

He still fumed that Will took off with most of his money, but he knew he would never be able to find him again.

But one thing that upset him more what that Catherine Willows and Greg Sanders made it out alive and well. He never failed before but this time he knew he had. He should have killed them instead of locking them up. He did not think they would be found before they had died from thirst and starvation. His message would not be taken as seriously now that two survived. He had to find another target and this time send a final message.


	19. Chapter 19

Catherine was wondering what was going on with Greg. He seemed to be finding excuses to not see her outside of work. He would talk to her on the phone but he seemed distant. She started wondering if he had found someone else more around his age.

She thought about this as she sat in her office before leaving for home. There was a knock on her door that startled her. Nick smiled at her as she saw him.

"Hey Cath! How have you been? We miss you on nights," Nick told her.

"I've been doing good but I miss all of you too, although one person doesn't seem to miss me as much as you do," she commented.

Nick raised his head a little. "You're talking about Greg, aren't you? I was just coming in here to ask you about him."

She furrowed her brows. "Why? What's he been doing?"

"Well he's been acting out of sorts for the last two weeks since that Larry Penter case."

"What case was that?" Catherine asked him.

Nick seemed surprised. "Didn't Greg tell you what happened?"

"I've hardly talked to Greg lately. He's been keeping to himself."

"Really? Well, this was the case were we found the guy slashed up, who bled to death in a basement. Greg froze up when we were heading downstairs into the basement, which I could understand. Once he got past that, when we got downstairs, he froze again seeing the victim. I mean he got past that too eventually, but since then he has been grumpy, irritable, and very on edge. Yesterday, he practically bit my head off because he had come in late again and I asked him why he had been late. He's been late the last few days and looking like hell when he gets here."

Catherine shook her head in disbelief. "He's been avoiding me for the last week mostly. He finds excuses to not see me or hardly talks to me on the phone. I thought until now that maybe he found someone else, but now you have me worried about him. I am purposely staying late today just to catch him when he comes in. Has Grissom noticed his behavior?"

Nick nodded. "Everyone has. Good luck on waiting on him. He's been running an hour late the last two days. I know Grissom is planning on talking to him about it today if he is late again."

"Wow. I had no idea he'd gotten this way. You're really making me worried about him."

"Well, I know I'm worried too and so is Sara and Warrick. I'm thinking maybe it's some major stress over all that has happened to him going on."

"It's a good possibility. I hope he gets here soon," Catherine said impatiently.

--------------------------

He was throwing himself against the door, trying to escape his small, dark prison. "Stand down!"

Greg shrieked back down the stairs when he heard the voice yell from beyond the other side of the door. He wanted to disappear, but there was no escape.

The door opened and down came his capturer and his partner, Troy Drye and Tyler Renning, brandishing his hunting knife. Greg cowered in the farthest corner he could, closing his eyes hoping they would just leave him along this time. His back already was covered in blood from the first two cuts Tyler gave him; he did not think he could handle another.

"It's playtime, boy," Tyler grinned maliciously at him as he showed Greg his jagged edged knife. He started walking towards Greg.

"No, please!" Greg begged him, as he started crawling away from Tyler to escape the impending torture.

Troy just watched as Tyler laughed at Greg who got trapped in a corner. Standing over Greg, Tyler said, "You know how good your blood tastes to me. Let me have a taste now." He slashed his knife at Greg's cowering body. Greg screamed out a blood-curdling cry.

He opened his eyes, panting and shaking. He was in the corner of his bedroom, curled up in a ball. His heartbeat was fast. He had been waking up in a similar state for the past week, having only brief memories of what he dreamt about. He could never go back to sleep after one of these events and the lack of sleep was taking it's toll on him.

He stayed in the corner for a few more minutes, staying curled up until he calmed down some. He wiped a few tears away that had escaped from his eyes, before he finally got up.

He immediately got in the shower and turned the water cold to shock his body into waking up fully. Once he was out, he did his usual check of his back just to make sure no new cuts or scars showed up. He got dressed and went into his kitchen to brew some Blue Hawaiian coffee.

He grabbed a couple Vicodin from his pill bottle and pocketed the bottle. He took the pills with his cup of coffee. His body ached from being on the floor. He looked at the clock and did not want to go into work. He wanted to call in but had no sick time or vacation left to use.

He felt exhausted from so little sleep. He had stayed up most of the day and only fell asleep a couple hours before having to go to work. He yawned as he looked in his mostly empty refrigerator for something to eat. Nothing looked appetizing to him, as had been the case for a couple weeks now.

He decided he better head to work, knowing he would be late again as it was.

As he entered the Las Vegas Crime Lab, he prayed it was an easy evening and everyone stayed out of his way.

He headed to the locker room to drop off his jacket. As he came to it, he saw Catherine sitting on a bench waiting, for him no doubt. He tried to take off before she saw him but was unsuccessful.

Catherine had been determined to speak with Greg in person to see what was going on with him. She knew he always stopped in the locker room to drop off his stuff before he started his shift.

She saw him come to the entrance and try to take off right away. "Greg, you're not hiding from me anymore," she scolded him. She watched as he slowly turned back around to face her. Nick had been right he did look like hell. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked thinner than ever.

She watched, as he just stood in the entranceway in a defiant stance.

"What? I'm not hiding from you," he said in a tired voice.

She walked over to him since he obviously was not coming towards her. When she reached out to touch him, he stepped back.

"What's wrong with you, Greg? Why are you moving away from me?" She asked him in surprise.

He was not even sure why he moved away from her, but he just did not want her to touch him.

"Nothing really. I just have been feeling a little under the weather and do not want you to get sick too," he said quickly as an excuse.

"Do you think you still have a touch of the pneumonia?" She asked him, going into concerned mode again.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps, but probably not." He was glad she was buying his sick excuse.

"Are you having trouble sleeping again?"

This was why he had been avoiding her, her constant worry about him. "Look I said I have not been feeling too good, so that also means I am not sleeping too well, but I'll be fine once I have my days off. I will stay in bed, okay!" He said raising his voice at her.

She stared wide-eyed at him in shock at how mad he was getting. She knew there was more to what he was telling her and she was going to get to the bottom of it if she could.

"Are you still seeing Dr. Felix?"

He glared at her coldly. "Yes," was his only response.

She was disturbed by his coldness. "Have you been discussing things with him?"

"Yes." He said once again in a hard tone. He lied, he had not been telling Dr. Felix everything. As a matter of fact, he had postponed his last two sessions, feigning illness to him.

"Greg, you're lying to me. I do not believe you," she told him, starting to get mad herself.

"Well, that's not my problem now is it, that you don't believe me," he sneered.

She could not believe this was Greg Sanders she was talking to, her sweet, caring Greg. Something was definitely wrong but she could see she was getting nowhere with him now.

"You know, I don't know how to talk with you when you are like this. We will talk but not now." This time she gave him an angry look and walked out past him.

After she was out of sight, he sat down on the bench and leaned his head against his locker. He felt drained again. He did not know what was going on with him. He still had a whole shift ahead of him and was not sure he could deal with it.

He was still leaning against the locker when Grissom called his name. "Greg, are you feeling okay?"

Greg was startled when he spoke. He quickly sat up and turned to Grissom. "Uh yeah. Well no. I sort of feel sick," he told him because he really did have a headache and felt queasy.

"Is that why you have been late the last few days?" Grissom asked, as his eyebrows rose.

"Uh yeah, sorry. I think I still might have remains from the pneumonia."

Grissom studied Greg's appearance for a moment. He could see something was eating away at Greg and it bothered him.

"Dr. Felix notified me that you have postponed your last two sessions because you have been sick. He also said he was worried about you. I'm worried about you too, Greg. You have been very on edge lately and closed off which is very unlike you. I want you to take today off, that way you will have 3 days off to get well, if that is what is needed or figure out what is going on with you."

Greg stared at Grissom, his mouth parted open in shock. He was making him take the day off. He had talked to Dr. Felix and knew he was blowing off his sessions. He knew this was bad for him.

Greg wondered something and decided to ask Grissom his thoughts on it. "What if this is who I am now? What if the old Greg is dead?"

Grissom gazed upon his troubled young CSI and hoped he had not permanently changed into this person he was now.

"I do not tend to believe this is who you are now, Greg. I just think you need help. Use Dr. Felix, he is there for your benefit."

Suddenly Greg felt very emotional. "I don't like him," he said in an almost childlike voice.

Grissom frowned a bit. "If you do not like him, ask to see another psychiatrist, Greg."

Greg lowered his head and nodded. "Okay, maybe."

Grissom was not happy with the response but would live with it for now.

"So you are going to go home and get some rest then, Boss' orders," Grissom told to him.

Greg nodded slowly again. "Yes Sir."

"Good. I will see you in a few days then."

Greg watched as Grissom walked away. He was supposed to go home now, but he did not want to. He did not want to go home to possibly fall asleep and wake up in some sort of frenzied state or in the corner of his room again due to some too realistic dream. It was nighttime, so he knew there were plenty of places to go drown out his thoughts. He got up finally and left the lab and all his friends behind.


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N- Again Haldir's Heart-thanks for your consistent reviews. I really do appreciate them. :) Greg's downfall is just beginning as you will see in this chapter._

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Chapter 20

Greg stopped at a bar just down the road from his apartment. He went up to the bartender and ordered vodka on ice. In the last week, this had become his preferred drink.

He drank his first one quickly and then ordered up another. His eyes roamed the patrons at the small bar. He saw some of his neighbors and smiled at them briefly, hoping they would not come over. They smiled back but left him alone.

A pretty brunette caught his eye and started walking over to him. She took the empty barstool next to him. Greg gave her a flirty smile, but overall was not in the mood for company.

"Hey there," she said to him. "You look familiar."

He gave her a quizzical look, seeing if he knew her but he would have remembered a face like hers.

"Really? Well, you don't look familiar to me," he told her with a smile.

"I'm trying to think of where I've seen you before."

He shrugged his shoulders not really caring to guess for her.

She stared at him for a moment, making him feel uncomfortable. "Oh wait I know. Aren't you that Crime Scene Investigator that's been in the news lately?"

Suddenly he felt like running away. He nodded and said yes very meekly.

She could see his whole expression change. She felt awkward now and was not sure what to say.

"Uh, I'm sorry. I know you've been through a lot. I just saw you, recognized you, thought you were cute and thought I would come by and get to know you better," she said quickly.

"I have a girlfriend," he said shortly.

She could see this was his way of brushing her off. "Oh I see. Well good luck with everything. I'm going to go now." She smiled as she slid off the barstool and left him alone.

Greg finished off his drink and paid his tab. He decided he did not want to be around people anymore. He decided to go home anyway.

As he left the bar and walked to his car, he saw a few men in the parking lot talking. He saw one look at him and he though it was Tyler Renning at first. He looked again, knowing it was not possible. He killed Tyler. On a second look he realized he was wrong and he laughed to himself shakily.

Once he was home, he went and grabbed his own Vodka bottle out of the refrigerator. He poured a glass for himself and took it and the bottle with him to his sofa.

He turned on his TV and went through most of the channels until he ended up on a basketball game. His gaze was on the TV but his mind was elsewhere. Everywhere he turned lately he was reminded of something that happened to him.

He was sick of not sleeping well and everyone getting on his case about how he was acting. As he drank more he just wished he could forget it all forever.

His eyes were getting heavy and as much as he fought sleep and the nightmares that would come, he lost that battle one more time.

-------------------------------

Grissom had called Catherine and let her know that he had sent Greg home. He felt that maybe she should check on him.

As mad as she was at him, she also knew that Greg was not himself. As she drove over to his place she tried calling him but he had his cell phone off and was not answering his home phone. She wondered if he was home at all, but then saw his car in the parking lot.

She went up to his door and knocked. After several knocks, she got her key out to his door, feeling a bit worried that he was not answering.

When she opened the door, she called out his name and he still did not answer. She saw how messy his place was since the last time she was there. Empty beer cans and a couple empty bottles of Vodka littered the floor by his sofa. Seeing the alcohol disturbed her a lot, she knew Greg drank socially but not like that.

She suddenly heard some moaning and then she heard his voice yell out, "No, please!" Her heart raced as she followed where his cry came from.

She came around the kitchen counter and saw him. He was huddled up in a ball in the corner of his kitchen floor. She approached him slowly, her heart in her throat.

"Greg," she said as she lightly touched him. He suddenly threw his arm out at her. "No, stay away from me." His voice was full of fear and pleading. His eyes were still closed. She was not sure if he was awake or asleep.

She carefully shook him again. "Greg, it's Catherine. You're safe." Her heart broke as she heard him whimper and plead again. "No more, please!"

She did not know what to do. He was not waking up. She shook him roughly, yelling his name this time.

Suddenly his eyes shot open, a wild, fearful look in them. He sat up quickly, his eyes darting all over as if he was looking for his demons. His breathing was rapid and he trembled.

Catherine moved back at bit when he woke up. She had heard of people having such intense dreams that it was hard to wake them from them but this was her first experience with anyone having them.

"Greg, it's okay. It's just me, Catherine." She said in a calm voice to him although her voice cracked with emotion as she said it. She watched him as he sat in the corner like a trapped animal. "Greg," she said again as she gently laid her hand on his. He quickly pulled away from her as if she were on fire.

"It was just a dream, Greg. You are safe. They can't hurt you."

He finally looked at her, his fearful eyes brimming with tears. "You're wrong, they can."

"Oh Greg!" She wanted to hold him tight but was afraid to touch him. Her eyes welled up with tears. She just watched him instead as he got his bearings as to where he was and then attempted to stand up.

He stumbled slightly but made his way back to his sofa. He always wondered how he ended up on the floor somehow.

Catherine watched him very carefully as he sat down on the sofa and then lowered his head into his hands. She came over and sat next to him, but far enough to not invade his space.

His head pounded again. He knew Catherine was sitting by him. He wished she had not seen him the way she had. Once again, he wished he could just forget everything, but he remembered his dreams more and more and it muddled his reality.

Catherine waited to see if he was going to say anything but he did not. He kept his face shielded from her. She was not sure what to do but she had to try something.

"You can talk to me. You know you can trust me."

When he still did not respond, she tried laying her hand on his back. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she did, his red-rimmed eyes staring at her like she was crazy.

"I'm sorry, Greg. I don't know how to deal with you like this. I just want to help you," she said with a tear falling from her eye.

He sprung up angrily. "I don't want anyone's help, can't you understand?" He walked off into the kitchen.

She came up behind him, not giving up easily. "Greg, I'm going to stay here until you talk to me," she said defiantly. She stood right behind him.

Anger was building up inside him he could not control. He spun around. "Leave me alone," he yelled then proceeded to push her away from him, backing her into the counter.

She hit her back against the counter and cried out in pain. She stared at him, stunned and in tears, not believing what just happened. She slowly edged back away from him, just wanting to get away from him now, unsure of what change might come over him next.

Greg suddenly realized what he had done when he heard her yell out in pain and started backing away from him in fear. He saw fear in her eyes, fear of him. She was scared of him and that was the last thing he ever wanted to happen. He did not want to hurt her and he had.

"Catherine, I'm sorry. I am so sorry," he said in a shaky voice. "Please don't leave, you are right, I need help. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." Tears started to roll down his cheeks as he slid down the wall to the floor.

She stopped retreating when she saw him collapse into a heap on the ground, still saying how sorry he was.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, heaving sobs pouring out of him now.

She could not stand seeing him fall like this before her eyes. She went over to him and sat down. She said his name quietly. He looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot and puffy.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed out.

"I know," she said finally able to touch him without him reacting poorly. Her eyes filled with tears for him.

"Come here," she told him as she drew him into to hold him. He practically leapt into her arms, holding her so tightly as he cried.

She had never seen him in a state like this before. It killed her to see him suffering so much. She just held onto him tight, telling him everything would be okay.

They sat like that for a few minutes before he composed himself again. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Thanks," he said to her softly as she watched him carefully get up off the floor.

"Where are you going?" She asked him.

He looked back at her. "To the bathroom."

"Oh," she replied sheepishly.

"I think I might take a shower while I am at it. It might make me feel better."

She smiled at him. "Okay, holler if you need me for anything."

He nodded and went off in the direction of his bedroom.

When he got out she would have to talk to him about getting professional help and if need be, a new doctor.

She got up and started cleaning up his place some to keep her mind from worrying too much about him. She gathered up his beer cans and the two vodka bottles he had laying on his coffee table. She trashed them, then opened his refrigerator and saw it as mostly bare except for a few beers and a box of leftover Chinese food and water bottles. She shook her head wondering when the last time he ate a decent meal. He had not gained weight since they were locked away.

It had been a few minutes since she heard the shower stop running. She wondered why he had not come out yet.

She walked into his bedroom and saw the bathroom door cracked open. She peeked inside and saw him standing with a towel wrapped around his waist, staring at his back's reflection in the mirror. She noticed the haunted look in his eyes.

She cracked open the door more. "Greg?"

He spun around and looked at her. "What?" He seemed surprised to see her.

She came in closer to him, noticing more just how thin he really was. "Greg, stop doing this to yourself."

He gave her a questioning look. "Doing what?"

"You keep looking at your scars. They are not going to disappear you know that," she said gently to him.

He hung his head. "I was looking to see if there were new ones." He gazed back up at her. "I know you think I am loosing my mind."

She laid her head against his shoulder. "You're not loosing your mind. You've had so much happen to you. You are having some kind of post traumatic stress going on probably."

He sighed heavily. "Maybe. I'm just so tired. I don't know what's real or not anymore."

"Why don't you get dressed and come to bed with me?" She asked him.

He frowned. "I'll try. Give me a minute."

She left him alone and straightened out his bed, which looked like it hardly had been slept in.

She sat on his bed, waiting on him to come out.

He popped a couple more Vicodin before coming out wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. His hair was towel dried. He looked worn out and tired still. She noticed he could not look at her directly as he walked by her and sat down on the bed.

He sat so his back was to her. "I'm afraid to sleep," he said so quietly she barely heard him.

"God, Greg. I don't know what to tell you. Maybe if you talk about these dreams you have been having, it will help."

He shook his head. "No, they feel too real as it is. To talk about them…I don't know. I keep waking up in a panic or I am confused or scared out of my mind. And as you saw, sometimes not where I fell asleep either. At first when I started getting them I did not remember what they were, but lately I can remember too much of them."

"It helped before when you talked to me about your nightmares," she said trying to encourage him.

He shook his head again. "I don't think I can do that this time. I just simply want to forget all of it."

"So you've been drinking to try to forget? That's not the way to do it Greg and you know it."

He got up and started pacing, running his hands through his hair. "I know, but it helps temporarily okay. I don't know what else to do. I can't take this much longer."

She could hear a bit of panic in his voice. She had to try to calm him down again. She stood up and grabbed his arm to stop him from pacing. She could feel him trembling. She tried to get him to look at her in her eyes.

"Greg, why don't you just come lay down with me for awhile. In the morning I'll take you to see Dr. Felix and tell him what is going on."

He shook his head again. "No, not him. I don't feel comfortable with him."

She sighed. "Fine, but you need professional help. We will find someone else then for you. Please, just tell me you will try. You are scaring me, Greg," her voice quivered.

He saw the fear and sadness in her blue eyes and finally nodded. "Okay," he told her, knowing she was right. He could not do this on his own.

"Good. So for now, just lay with me in bed," she said to him. She took his hand and guided him back to his bed. She laid down first, leaving space for him to come. She noticed he hesitated a moment but then finally laid down next to her.

He turned to face her. "What now?" He asked her softly, his brown eyes so full of sadness.

She smiled at him, trying to make him feel better. "Whatever you want?"

He gazed at her. "I just want to take in your beauty, inside and out and thank you for putting up with me. I would not be able to be with me if I were you."

She stared at him with love, caressing his face with her hand. "I don't give up on people I love that easily."

He was looking at her seriously. "I don't deserve you."

She frowned. "Greg, don't say that. That is not true."

He did not respond. Instead he turned his gaze away. After a minute he spoke again. "I think I might try to sleep again."

She nodded. "Okay."

He gave her a small, quick smile and closed his eyes.

She stared at him, concern clearly showing on her face. He had never been this down before. His attitude and outlook on everything had her very alarmed. She was only glad he had agreed to see a professional for help.

She could tell he had fallen asleep by his breathing. She silently prayed he would not have any more of his nightmares. Then she drifted off into her own sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N- Well just when you thought things could not get worse...

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Chapter 21

When she woke up and noticed Greg was not in bed, she became alarmed and called out his name.

He came into the room a few seconds later, holding a coffee cup.

"Sorry, I woke up and wanted something to drink," he said coyly.

She was sitting up in bed and staring at his cup.

He noticed her looking at his cup. "It's not alcohol if that is what you think. It is coffee."

She bit her lip, hating that she had jumped to that conclusion in her head and that he knew it. She decided not to respond to it and change the subject instead. "What time is it?"

He looked over at his bedside clock. "It is 5:23 am."

"Did you sleep some then?" She asked him.

" A few hours, I guess," he shrugged. He still looked out of sorts to her. Then she heard what sounded like a stomach growl. She knew it was Greg's.

He knew it too as he looked down and touched his stomach with his hand.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "When was the last time you ate?"

He looked at her lazily. "I had some peanuts at the bar."

She scowled at him. "Greg, seriously."

He looked down at his feet. "I don't know. I think I had a bag of chips at lunch."

She looked at him incredulously. "That's it? A bag of chips and some peanuts? Do you enjoy starving yourself, Greg?"

He gave her a pained glare then walked out of the room.

She knew it was not the best thing to say but she was frustrated and concerned. She got up and followed him out into the living room. He was sitting down in a chair at his kitchen table with the coffee cup still in his hands. She took a seat at the table. She gazed at him, as he stared blankly at his coffee.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you by saying that. I'm just so worried about you, Greg. I've never seen you like this before."

"I know," he said quietly, while still gazing into his coffee cup.

"Look, why don't I go out and buy us something to eat from that convenience store down the road from here, since I noticed earlier you have nothing in here to eat."

He looked up finally. "I'll go," he offered, thinking he could use the fresh air.

"How about we both go? Is that okay with you?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"Okay, give me a couple minutes to freshen up and we will go."

He just simply nodded again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was planning on doing his final job in Vegas that day, but he needed a few things for himself before he left town right after the job.

It was still very early morning and the clerks at the convenience stores during those hours were never too awake to notice him. He would just go in, grab a few items he needed and be out in no time. Then he would be ready for his final act in Las Vegas.

He wore his cap low on his head and had grown out his hair some. It was not blonde anymore, but a light brown now. He looked through the aisle with canned foods, things he could eat easily on the road with him. He did not notice the couple that walked in through the door.

"What do you want to eat?" Catherine asked Greg, who slowly followed behind her.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Food."

She smirked at him. "Funny, seriously what do you want?"

His eyes were roaming the store. "Whatever," he responded.

Catherine sighed and went to the freezer area. Greg still followed behind but stopped in his tracks when he saw a man in an aisle by the entrance. He at first thought his mind was playing games with him, but the more he looked at the man he knew he was real. With his heart racing, Greg quietly came up behind Catherine.

"Catherine, Troy Drye is here, towards the front of the store," he whispered in her ear.

"What?" She exclaimed to him. He turned her so she could see. She did not recognize him at first, but then she saw him from the front and saw those eyes.

Greg was dialing 911 on his cell phone while Catherine was still staring at Troy. Troy looked up and recognized the blonde staring at him.

He quickly went for his gun he had hidden under his shirt.

Catherine went low to the ground pulling Greg down with her when she knew Troy recognized her. She reached into her purse and took out her personal gun that she recently acquired for herself.

Greg was shocked when she pulled it out. "When did you get that?" He asked her in a rush.

"When I knew those two were still on the loose. I'm not taking chances anymore."

The clerk screamed when she saw Troy with the gun. Troy quickly shot her to shut her up. She fell behind the counter.

"So the two CSI's who lived just happen to be in the same convenience store as I am this morning. How perfect this is! Now I can finish off the job I should have before."

He shot in the direction to where the two ducked down.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," he yelled to them.

"Stay down," Catherine told Greg as she edged out towards the corner of the shelving unit to get a good shot at Troy.

"Catherine, wait until the real cops get here," Greg begged her.

"He's going to come for us and shoot us if I don't get him first," she told him.

Greg was already a nervous wreck and this was not helping any.

Catherine got a view of Troy's leg and aimed at it. She fired but missed as he had seen her pop out. He shot in her direction and nearly hit her.

Troy moved closer to the back of the store, where Catherine and Greg hid.

Catherine saw him moving and quickly got up and shot at him. She hit him this time and she saw and heard him go down.

"I'm going to go check on him," she said to Greg.

"Just stay here, please. I can hear the sirens, backup is almost here," Greg told her.

But Catherine was in cop mode. "You stay here. I just want to check on him."

He cursed to himself as she started to walk away from him.

"Troy, backup is almost here. Just give yourself up," Catherine said as she rounded the aisles to the one he was last in.

She rounded the shelving unit very carefully and saw Troy sprawled out on the ground, blood coming from his stomach. She could see he was still breathing. She held her gun on him as she moved to take the gun out of his hand.

Suddenly he quickly opened his eyes, raised his gun and shot at her.

Catherine tried to move out of the aim but she was too close. She fired off her own gun as his bullet ripped through her chest.

Her bullet hit Troy in the neck, causing him to finally go unconscious.

Greg heard the gunfire and then Catherine cry out. His heart went to his throat and he got up from his hiding place and went around to see Catherine laying on the floor bleeding. He felt paralyzed for a moment, seeing her lying there, blood pouring out of her chest.

He finally ran over to her, collapsing to his knees at her side, not even caring if Troy was still alive or not.

He gently raised her head into his lap and took off his jacket and placed it over the hole in her chest where the blood pooled out. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow.

"Catherine, don't you dare do this to me now." He caressed her face with his other hand. "Please, don't do this. Please don't die!" Tears fell from his eyes.

He was still pleading with her when suddenly he felt someone lay his hand on his shoulder. He had been so lost in his own world he did not even hear when the cops came in. The cops tried talking to him but he did not even hear them.

Brass came to the scene as fast as he heard it was a Troy Drye sighting. He was stunned when he walked in and saw Greg cradling Catherine who was unconscious and bleeding.

When he saw the officers trying to get Greg's attention, he went over to help them out. He just heard Greg mumbling, "Please don't die."

"Greg," he said as he laid his hand on Greg's shoulder. Greg looked up at him, with tear streaked cheeks.

"The paramedics need to see her now. They will take care of her."

Greg nodded slowly in understanding and then watched as the paramedics gently take her from him and started working on her.

Brass helped Greg to his feet, but Greg's eyes stayed on Catherine.

"Can you tell me what happened here, Greg?"

Greg stared at Catherine as the paramedics worked on her. "I told her to wait for the cops to come. She insisted on taking care of Troy herself. I did not even know she carried a gun on her all the time until now. I did not see what happened. She told me to stay out of the way and I was glad to. I should have helped her."

"There was nothing you could have done Greg."

"No, I could have done something," Greg said as his gaze stayed on her.

Grissom and Sara arrived on the scene. "What happened here?" Grissom asked as he saw Catherine being put into an ambulance.

He saw Brass standing next to Greg who was covered in blood.

Brass stepped away from Greg, who was now just staring at his blood covered hands.

Brass pulled Grissom and Sara to the side. "What happened, Jim?" Grissom asked again.

Brass spoke in a low voice. "We got a 911 call that Greg must have made, that Troy was spotted here in this store. When we came upon the scene, we found 3 people shot, one being the clerk, our guy Troy and then Catherine. Greg was holding her. He does not seem to be injured; he would not let the paramedics check him though. He's really shaken up. He said he did not see what happened, only that Catherine had her gun on her and she went after Troy."

Sara looked over at Greg. He was very pale and still staring down at his blood covered hands. "I'll go over to him," she told Grissom.

Brass continued with Grissom, walking over to where the paramedics still were checking over Troy. "He was shot twice, once in the abdomen and once in the neck," a paramedic told them.

Sara went over to Greg. "Greg, are you injured? Let me take a look at you, Greg." She said to him in a caring voice.

Greg did not impede her from checking to see if he was injured. He did not do anything. He just stared out into the dawning horizon, towards where the ambulance had taken off with Catherine.

Once Sara was satisfied that he was not injured and only had Catherine's blood on him, she stood in his line of vision and stared into his empty eyes.

"Greg, are you going to be okay?" She asked him. He did not respond. She felt the cold breeze blow and realized he was shaking. It was a cold November night and he only had on his blood stained t-shirt. He had given up his jacket to stop Catherine's blood.

"I'll be right back, Greg." She ran inside and saw Grissom. "Hey Gil, Are you okay here alone? I think I should run Greg to the hospital. He seems to be a bit out of it and he is shaking. I want to get him out of the cold and make sure he is okay."

He nodded. "I already called in Nick and Warrick to assist me. Go ahead. Here take my jacket for him. I'll meet you at the hospital later when we are done here. Call me if you have any news on Catherine."

She nodded then headed back out to where Greg stood in front of the store. She handed Grissom's jacket to him. "Here, to cover you up."

He looked down at the jacket and put it on, but still did not say anything.

"Let me take you to the hospital, Greg. We can see how Catherine is doing."

He simply nodded and followed her to her car.

During the ride to the hospital he remained silent. She did not push him to talk at all.

She led him up to the nurses' desk as they entered the hospital. "We are wanting to check on the condition of Catherine Willows," Sara said as she showed her CSI badge.

"I believe she is still in surgery. If you take a seat in the waiting area we will notify you when we have news," the nurse said to Sara. She glanced over at the man who was with her and saw the blood on him. Then she proceeded to ask Sara. "Does he need to see a doctor?"

Sara looked over at Greg, who was staring down the hallway. "No, he is not injured. He was there when Ms. Willows was shot."

"I see. Well you two can take a seat then over there and we will call you when we hear something."

Sara was worried about Catherine's condition, but was more worried immediately about Greg who had not spoken a word to her yet.

"Hey Greg, you know the doctors are great here. Catherine is in good hands. I am sure she will be fine," she told him. He nodded slightly. She thought it was a good sign at least that he was listening.

Sara suddenly noticed Lily and Lindsay come into the hospital. She got up and went to them immediately.

"Sara how is she? Gil just called and let us know," Lily said in a worried voice.

"She's still in surgery," she told them.

Lindsay noticed Greg staring into space. "What's wrong with Greg? Was he hurt too?"

Sara shook her head. "No, he's not hurt. He's just not taking it too well. He has not said much since I've seen him."

Lindsay looked at her Grandmother. "I'm going to go over and talk to Greg."

Lily nodded. She and Sara watched as Lindsay went over to Greg.

Lindsay sat next to him in a chair. She put her hand on his. "Greg, you know mom is a fighter. She is going to be okay."

Greg looked over at Lindsay, seeing Catherine in her face and smiled a little. "Yeah."

Lindsay leaned her head against Greg's shoulder. He could not help but put his arm around her. He knew she needed comforting as she had tears in her eyes.

Lily and Sara joined them as they waited for news on Catherine to come.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Brass and Grissom came to the hospital about an hour later. Catherine was still in surgery. Brass came up to Greg and asked him if there were any other details he could tell them about what happened. He just shrugged and shook his head.

A doctor came over to Brass. "I have news on Troy Drye. He is out of surgery and in recovery. The bullet in his neck caused damage to his larynx. The one in his abdomen did not cause too much damage and we were able to remove it also. He probably will not be able to talk for sometime, but overall he should be fine."

At hearing Troy's name, Greg became angry. The man who locked them up to starve to death, then to only come back into their lives and shoot Catherine was alive and would make a full recovery. It reminded Greg how screwed up the world was. All he could hope was that the justice system would give him what he deserved.

After another long thirty minute wait, the doctor who had been working on Catherine came out to see them. The doctor recognized the various people from the previous time Catherine and Greg were in the hospital.

"Ms. Willows is in recovery now. The bullet grazed her lung but fortunately did not cause much damage. She lost a lot of blood but we got to her in enough time. She's still in critical condition, but with no complications she should make a full recovery."

"When can we see her?" Lily asked the doctor.

"We will let you know when we have her all set up in I.C.U." The doctor left them to go back to other patients.

After hearing the news, Grissom and Brass went back to work. Sara stuck around for a little while longer to make sure Greg was okay.

Greg had not said much. He just stared at the ground. Sara had made him wash the blood off of his hands. She suggested he go home and get some rest, but he said not until he saw Catherine himself still alive.

They were finally given permission to see her an hour later. Lily and Lindsay went in first. Greg went in after them.

He walked in slowly and stood half the distance away from her bed. He wrapped his arms around himself as he looked at her. She was too pale. The machines beeped all around her. He looked at her angelic face and got angry that she was the one in that bed instead of him. He was the one who was messed up and was getting them into all these situations. They would not have needed to go to the store if it was not for him. He hated himself for even letting her stay the night. He should have made her leave and then none of this would have happened.

"Catherine, you deserve better," he said quietly to himself mostly. He ignored the tear that fell from his eye. At least he knew she was alive now and would live. He resided himself to that fact and left her room.

Sara offered to drive him home to get some rest. He went along with her, but did not say anything to her on the drive home. Sara did not want to leave him alone at his place but Grissom wanted her back at the lab since they were going to be short a CSI again.

"Are you going to be okay here alone?" She asked him.

"Yeah sure, peachy," he said sarcastically.

She frowned at his response, not liking his tone at all. "Well okay then. Get some sleep. You look ill."

"Yeah so I've heard," he mumbled under his breath, as he nodded to her.

She left with a promise to call him later on.

He did not even bother saying goodbye to her. He just shut the door as she walked out. He headed straight to his medicine cabinet in his bathroom and grabbed his bottle of Vicodin and took a few pills. He had only taken some a couple hours prior.

He avoided his reflection in the mirror as he splashed water on his face. Then he walked into his bedroom and tossed Grissom's jacket that he had been wearing on the ground. He proceeded to take off his t-shirt. He balled it up and threw it in his laundry pile.

He sat down on the edge of his bed and stared blankly at the ground. His head felt like it was going to burst, but he did not care. He would be better off if it did, he figured.

His eyes drifted over to where his shirt lay upon the other pile of clothes. The blue tee was now covered in dark red, Catherine's dried blood. The blood on his shirt should have been his, not hers. He could actually picture himself lying on the floor of the convenience store, his own chest gushing blood. He laughed eerily thinking of his own image.

Suddenly, in a rage, he got up and grabbed the t-shirt and started ripping it up with his bare hands. He could not stand the sight of the shirt anymore, knowing Catherine's blood was on it and not his.

After he tore it up, he threw it in the trashcan. His breathing was ragged. He ran his hand through his hair and sat back down on his bed. He could hardly keep his eyes open anymore. He lay back on his bed and closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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Grissom sat with Catherine. He had come back to the hospital after turning in all the evidence from the scene and finishing up on some paperwork.

Lily and Lindsay had been sitting with her but she had not woken up during that time. They went to get something to eat.

He noticed her starting to come to. "Catherine?"

She opened her eyes slightly. She looked to where the voice came from. She saw Grissom looking at her with a small smile. She returned a smile to him.

"It's nice to see you awake. You had us all worried there for awhile," Grissom said to her.

"Sorry," she said meekly. Her chest hurt. She was trying to remember what had happened. She remembered being in the store with Greg and seeing Troy. Then she remembered the moment, she had been standing over Troy to rid him of his gun when he came to so suddenly and shot his gun at her. She did not remember her own gun going off again. She wondered what happened to Greg.

"Where's Greg?" She asked in a whisper.

"Sara took him home to get some rest. He was not hurt but was in shock somewhat. When Brass got to the scene, Greg had been holding you, trying to control your bleeding."

She was glad he was not injured and hoped he was doing okay.

"What about Troy Drye?"

"He's here in the hospital. He had two gun shot wounds, one to his chest and one to his neck. He's unable to talk right now. Greg did not have a lot of details for us. He said he did not see what happened between you and Troy, so I am hoping you can fill us in on what happened," Grissom said to her.

She nodded and told him slowly what she remembered. She barely finished before she fell asleep again. Grissom left her room and filled in Lily and Lindsay that she had woken up. Then Grissom headed back to the lab to check on things there.

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_He was back in the convenience store, staring down at Catherine's lifeless body. Troy walked up to him, laughing at him. "You did this to her. You could have stopped me but you were too scared to do anything. You could have come up behind me and distracted me." _

_ "I was not scared. Catherine told me to stay put," Greg yelled at him. _

_ He felt someone come up behind him. "You were scared. You are always scared now of me, aren't you boy?" _

_ Greg knew that voice and it chilled him to the bone. _

_ "See I can tell right now that you are scared to death of me, of what pain I might inflict upon you this time." _

Greg shuddered as he felt Tyler's breath on his neck. "You're dead. You aren't here," Greg said in frightened whisper.

_ "OH I am very much alive to you, I bet your sweet tasting blood on it," Tyler sneered at him. _

_ "Just leave me alone." Greg's voice sounded so small and frightened. _

_ "I'll leave you alone after I have my fun." _

_ Greg felt the cold steel against his shirt and then he felt the pressure of the tip press against his back, through his shirt into his skin. _

_ "Please no," Greg pleaded as the pain started to radiate through his whole body. _

_ "Oh yes, Greg. Just remember, you brought this upon yourself. You had to play the hero, show Catherine how brave you were. Now look at you, you cannot even look at yourself in the mirror without seeing me or looking at your back and being reminded of me. You want me to do this. You want me to finish you off, end all of your pain," Tyler taunted him. _

_ "No, you are wrong," Greg replied in a small childlike voice. _

_ Tyler just laughed maliciously and jammed the knife into his back. Greg screamed out as the steel blade broke through his skin, sinking deep into his flesh. All he could hear was the laughter coming from Tyler and Troy as he sank into the blinding pain. _

He jumped up, his eyes wild and his heart beating rapidly. He was breathing heavily. He looked around, making sure he was alone. He sat up on the side of his bed and wiped the sweat off his face with his shaking hands. This nightmare was his most vivid one yet. He thought about what Tyler told him in his dream. He was beginning to think he was right, he had wished Tyler was still alive to finish him off and put him out of his misery. These nightmares and visions were slowly killing him.

His body hurt, especially his back. He got up and grabbed some more pills to kill his phantom pain. Then he went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water to take the pills. His throat was too dry to take them without liquid this time.

He stared into his empty refrigerator, remembering the reason they went into the convenience store in the first place. It was his fault she was shot. He slammed the door shut. He still had no appetite.

He wanted to drown himself. He went in the cabinet under his sink and pulled out a full bottle of vodka. He did not even bother getting a glass. He went over and sat on his sofa and took his first swig.

It only took about 4 swigs before he already started feeling nauseous and dizzy. Between his empty stomach and his medication, the alcohol was doing a number on him. He passed out shortly on his sofa in oblivion.

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Catherine had a stream of visitors, all but Greg over the last day and a half. When she saw someone coming in she hoped it was finally Greg. Unfortunately for her it was Nick.

"Oh hey Nick," she said, sounding disappointed.

"What's wrong? You do not sound to happy to see me," Nick said as he gave her a hand a squeeze and sat down.

"No, it's not you. It's Greg. I have not seen him at all. Have you seen him around here?"

Nick shook his head. "Come to think of it, I have not seen him in a couple days. I can't believe he has not come by to see you."

"Well he has not and he was in really bad shape the last time I saw him. Now after what happened to me and with no one seeing him for a couple days, I am really worried. Can you check on him for me? I really want to see him and talk to him," she pleaded with Nick.

"Sure Catherine, anything for you. Plus now you got me wondering about him too. I'll go to his place and see how he is."

"Thanks Nick. I have a key to his place in my purse. Take it with you," she told him.

"I will. I'll be back later on with him, okay?" Get some rest until then."

"Thanks again, Nick." She smiled as he left the room, but then became worried. No one had seen Greg since she came out of surgery. He was a total emotional wreck when she was last with him. She feared what his state of mind was now that he had seen her get shot. She prayed that he was okay.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Nick had tried calling Greg at first but he was not answering either of his phones. He saw his car parked in front of his apartment building so he figured he was home.

It was 7 pm already and the sky was dark. Nick went up to Greg's apartment door and knocked. After knocking a few times and not getting any response, he took out the key he got from Catherine and put it in the lock. He opened the door to a dark apartment.

"Greg, are you here?" No response. Nick found a light switch and turned it on. The room was illuminated and that is when Nick saw Greg passed out on the sofa.

"Greg!" Nick went over to him. He checked his pulse right away. It was slow. He saw two bottles of vodka, one empty on the ground, and the other almost empty on the side table. He shook his head. "Damn Greg, what's happened to you? Wake up," he yelled as he shook him.

Greg finally stirred a bit.

"Come on, Greg, wake up."

Greg moaned some. "Go away," he grumbled.

"I'm not going anywhere without you. You're messed up. What the hell are you doing drinking until you pass out while Catherine is in the hospital?"

Greg cracked an eye open to see Nick's angry face staring down at him.

"Go away, Nick. Leave me the hell alone," Greg groaned as his head felt like it was being used as a drum in a rock band.

Nick was getting mad with Greg. "I already told you I am not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on with you."

Greg sat up slowly. He felt nauseous and dizzy. He lowered his head into his hands. "Nick, it's nothing you or anyone else can understand." Greg reached over for the bottle of Vodka. Nick snatched it out of his hand and went into the kitchen with it. He poured it out into the kitchen sink.

Greg looked up at him, anger surging inside him. He stood up and almost fell right back down, but managed to maintain his balance. "You had no right to do that! Get the hell out of my place! How did you get in here anyway?"

Nick looked at Greg incredulously. "In case you forgot, the woman you claim to love, yours and my fellow co-worker, is lying in a hospital bed, recovering from a bullet wound. And guess what, she is worried about you. Yes, you, not herself. She asked me to see where you have been since you have not visited her since she has woken up. She gave me the key to your place to check up on you and drag your ass over to see her. You're hung-over and you are only trying to drink more? Do you want her to see you like this?"

Greg slumped back down on the sofa. "I don't want to see her," he mumbled.

Nick came over to him. "Why not?"

Greg stared down at his carpeting, wishing he could melt into it. "I don't love her anymore."

"That's bullshit, Greg. I heard from Brass how you were holding her, praying for her not to die. You do not just stop loving someone overnight! What are you afraid of?"

Greg remembered what Tyler said to him in the dream. Suddenly he could not answer Nick. If he said Tyler or his dreams, Nick would think he was crazy, but then again he was thinking he was crazy too.

Nick noticed Greg was not saying anything and realized he must have hit on something. "What's got you so scared, Greg? Troy is in custody now. His partner is probably long gone. You don't have to worry anymore."

Greg just shook his head, but the movement made him dizzier.

Nick sat down next to him. "You look bad, man, sick really. Let me take you down to the hospital to see Catherine and then have them take a look at you."

"I'm not going," he told him.

"I'm taking you whether you like it or not, Greg." Nick said more forcefully.

"I said I am not going," Greg responded loudly.

"Do you want me to physically drag your ass down there, because I will Greg and you know I can," Nick vehemently told him.

"Fuck you, Nick!"

Nick stood up suddenly and grabbed Greg's shoulders and brought him to his feet. Greg's dilated eyes stared at him, stunned.

"I said you were going. Now you can walk on your own if you can walk or I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here," Nick said with determination.

"Fine!" Greg wriggled his way out of Nick's grasp and started walking towards the door.

"That's more like it," Nick said to him, as he followed closely behind Greg.

In the car ride over the hospital, Greg did not say a word to Nick. He was pissed off that Nick was forcing him to go. He was not in any shape to talk to anymore, let alone Catherine. He felt like hell and all he wanted was to be lying down, hopefully falling into a sleep he would never wake up from.

Nick got out of the car in the hospital parking lot and noticed Greg making no effort to get out on his own. Nick was really getting angry with Greg.

He opened up the passenger side door where Greg sat. "Come on, Greg. Get out!"

Greg just sat there, staring straight ahead. "I supposed if I don't you will grab me and pull me out?"

Nick frowned. "Yes, if I have too, I will. So what will it be, Greg?"

Greg grunted but swung his legs out of the car and stood up. He placed his hand on the roof of the car as he almost lost his balance again.

"Dang, I cannot believe I am dragging your drunk ass to see Catherine. I should have waited until you sobered up," Nick said to him.

"I have no plans of sobering up," Greg said defiantly.

"Kind of hard to find alcohol in a hospital, Greg," Nick snorted.

"When there is a will there is a way," Greg told him as he walked past Nick.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Greg? Are you trying to destroy your life?"

Greg turned around slowly. The dead look in his eyes chilled Nick to the bone. Then he turned back around and walked towards the hospital entrance.

Nick stood stunned for a moment. It was like looking into two endless black pits when Greg looked at him. It was like he did not care about anything anymore. "Greg, you need help. You need to talk to someone."

Greg just raised his hand as he kept on walking. "Yeah, I've heard it a million times."

Nick walked closely behind Greg through the hospital towards Catherine's room. Greg slowed down as he neared her room.

Greg stopped right outside her door. He could see her lying in the bed, her face still pale but beautiful. Then the overwhelming guilt came over him again; it should have been him in that room and not her.

"Are you going in or what?" He heard Nick as impatiently behind him.

Greg did not want to face her. He was scared she would be mad at him for not doing anything to stop Troy. He could already hear Tyler taunting him. He shivered.

"Greg?" Nick saw him shiver and wondered if he should maybe just detour him to see a doctor instead.

"I'm going," Greg said meekly to Nick. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door. He walked in halfway and stopped. She had opened her eyes.

"Greg, you're here!"

Greg just stood there, his mouth agape and his heart beating faster_. "You should be in that bed, you worthless coward,"_ Tyler's voice said in his head.

Catherine became bothered when Greg did not say anything and just stood there with this incredibly haunted look in his eyes.

"Greg, I am going to be okay. Come over here and sit down," she said to him as she noticed he started trembling.

_"She says she's going to be okay, but she is lying to you. She blames you for everything that has happened to her," _Troy appeared standing next to her bed with a gun in his hand. "_If you had not taken her to the cabin none of this would have happened to her."_ Troy continued taunting Greg in his mind.

Greg shook his head slowly. "No, leave us alone," he said quietly.

"Greg, who are you talking to?" She asked him for concern brewing.

_"She can't see us, Greg. Only a guilty conscious like yours can see us."_ Tyler said behind him.

"I can't be here. I have to go," Greg started backing up suddenly, his breathing heavy.

"Greg, don't go. Whatever it is, it's not real!" She pleaded with him.

Greg kept backing up, right into Nick who had walked in to check on them.

Greg, thinking it was Tyler, swung around and hit Nick in the jaw. "Leave me alone!" He yelled out.

Catherine hit the call button for assistance immediately as she watched Greg yelling and hitting Nick, but she knew it was not Nick who Greg saw.

After Nick was blindsided by Greg's punch, he grabbed Greg's right arm and pinned it behind his back.

"No, let go of me," Greg yelled as he tried to free himself from Nick's grip. He looked at the man who held him and saw a blurry version of Tyler.

"I'm not letting go of you until you calm down, Greg," Nick grunted as he fought to keep hold of Greg.

"No, not again, please," Greg started to plead as tears came to his eyes. He viciously kicked at Nick.

A nurse came in. "What's going on in here?" She saw one man holding onto another who seemed to be distraught and out of control.

"He's been drinking and he might be on something," Nick yelled out to her.

The nurse understood and ran out of the room.

"Nick, don't hurt him," Catherine begged him as she was witnessing the true breakdown of Greg. Her eyes swam with tears as the nurse came back with a syringe and security. "Please don't hurt him," Catherine asked them as security helped Nick hold Greg still as the nurse sedated him.

"No! Please no! Don't! No!" Greg cried out as the needle was put in his arm. Slowly he stopped fighting and then fell limply into Nick's arms.

Nick looked helplessly at Catherine who was sobbing.

"We'll get a room for him and keep him under observation," the nurse said as a couple orderlies came in with a gurney.

They helped Nick put Greg on the gurney. "Do you know him?" The nurse asked Nick.

"He's a co-worker, friend and her boyfriend," he told her.

The nurse nodded. "We will take care of him."

He went to Catherine as they wheeled Greg away.

"I'm sorry, Catherine," Nick apologized to her as the others left the room.

Catherine shook her head. "No, perhaps this is best. Now I know he will get the help he needs."

Nick held onto her hand. "I hope you are right. I've never seen him like this."

"Me either," she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She closed her eyes and wished it had all been a dream, but she knew it was all real, too real. She just hoped they had not lost Greg forever.

**A/N-Poor Greg. Has he totally lost his mind? TBC... **

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	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

A new doctor came in to Catherine's room she had not seen before. Nick was still with her, comforting her after they had taken Greg away.

"Hello, I am Dr. Jack Fuller. I will be looking after Greg Sanders' case. We have placed him in a room on the 5th floor. I wanted to ask you two about his behavior lately. I've seen his medical files and seen he has been through some pretty traumatic events over the last year. I know that you, Ms. Willows have been closest to him. I was hoping you could tell me what he has been acting like lately."

Catherine looked at Nick, then to the 50-something salt and peppered haired doctor. "He's been having some really bad nightmares, I know. He said they are very real to him. I know they have something to do with Tyler Renning, the man who left the scars on his back. Greg would not tell me a lot, but I know he has been drinking a lot and not eating."

"Yes, we are running a tox screen on him to see if he has been abusing any substances. He has been on Vicodin, which is known to be addictive. Do you know if he has had any suicidal tendencies?"

Catherine gasped at even the thought that Greg might want to kill himself, but then she remembered how helpless he seemed and how he kept saying he wanted to forget. "Maybe, nothing for sure but I know he was very depressed and not caring about what happened to him."

"I see. Well I will be talking to him when he comes to again and I will assess his situation. For now he is in good hands, so do not worry." He bid the two CSI's goodbye with a promise to keep them informed on Greg's condition.

Greg woke up suddenly after having another nightmare, but this time it was blurred. When he woke up did not recognize his surroundings immediately and started to panic. He was trying to get out of the bed when a nurse came in.

"Hey, you need to stay in bed," the nurse said to him.

He ignored her and started to pull his IV out of his arm.

"Mr. Sanders, please you need to stay in bed," she yelled at him as he started to get up.

He got up and nearly fell down, but pushed the nurse out of his way. "I can't be here. He can find me here," he said as he stumbled towards the door.

The nurse called security who happened to be nearby due to the last incident with him. Security came in and grabbed him. He was thrashing about, trying to free himself. The nurse pulled out a syringe filled with a sedative again for him.

Greg tried to fight against the needle, seeing it as a knife. "No, please stop."

Once the sedative started working, they put him back in the bed. Dr. Fuller came in to see what was happening.

"He got violent again and said something about someone being able to find him here and he had to get out," the nurse told Dr. Fuller.

Dr. Fuller sighed. "I guess we will have to use restraints for now until we know he will not try to leave and not get violent. With all the medication and alcohol in his system he is messed up. His toxicology came in and he had medium to high levels of Vicodin in his system plus a blood alcohol level of .21. He's still pretty wired up on them. Hopefully in another 24-48 hours he will be doing better and I can talk to him. I don't want him to have any visitors until I say so."

The nurse nodded and she went ahead and got the restraints to put on Greg's wrists as he slept under sedation.

Grissom joined Brass in visiting Troy Drye, in his hospital room. They had not transferred him to the jail infirmary yet. The doctor finally gave them permission to talk to him. They were already told he would not be able to respond back vocally but he was able to write things down.

Of course Grissom and Brass knew they would not probably get him to answer any questions, but they had to give it a try.

They walked into the room and saw the man who had caused so much chaos in the lives of their two CSI's.

He lay in bed, a beard still on his face, his light brown hair hanging in his eyes. Restraints kept him tied to the bed. His blue eyes were slightly glazed over from the pain medication he was on, but still he glared at the two of them as they came into his room. He knew who they were.

"So Mr. Drye, sorry you seem to have lost your voice, but when you are in prison not having that voice will be bad for you. You won't be able to scream for help when the big boys come to get you," Brass said to him.

Troy just gave Brass a dirty look.

"I see you have some paper and a pen to write with so we are going to ask you some questions," Grissom told Troy.

An officer came over and undid the restraint on his right hand so he could write. Troy looked off to the side, trying to ignore them now.

Brass just shrugged and tried his line of questions anyway. "Where is your partner in crime? I believe he goes by Will. Maybe you can fill us in on his last name."

Troy glared at them but was thinking it was best if he gave the information about his thieving cousin so they could have an APB out on his butt too. He grabbed the pen and started writing down Will's full name and his birth date even. Then he shoved the notepad at Brass.

Brass looked at the information and grinned. "Looks like someone does not want to take the blame for everything. Do you know where he is now?"

Troy took the notepad back the scribbled down something.

Brass took it and read it to Grissom. "Looks like our boy here was double-crossed by his own cousin. It seems William Neely took off with most of his loot. Troy here is looking for payback. Now I suppose he will say all this was William's idea," Brass smirked.

Troy was not stupid; he knew he was caught red-handed. Catherine and Greg were two victims who were alive, along with the boy from the earlier case who all could identify him as their kidnapper, but he was not going to make it easy for them.

"So you want to tell us why you are so gung ho on taking down families with mafia ties?" Grissom asked him.

Troy looked away from them. He would have loved to tell them what he had against people in the mafia but it would not be the same in written form, so he decided not to tell them at all.

Grissom and Brass could see that he was not going to let them know his real motives behind his kidnappings and murders.

"Well Troy, we did find some of your money locked up in a box in your truck, so it looks like your buddy left you a little bit of dough. I guess not enough to make your getaway though, that's why you stayed in town. Who was going to be your next hit?"

Troy just grunted, giving them a look of disdain.

"Well it looks like Mr. Talkative does not want to talk anymore. What a shame," Brass grinned.

"Doesn't matter we have enough evidence against him to get the death sentence," Grissom said.

Troy looked at them with hatred, wishing he could tell them all to go to hell.

"See you in the prison orange, Troy," Brass said to him as they walked out of his room.

Outside his room Grissom told Brass he was going to visit Catherine before heading back to the lab.

When Grissom walked into Catherine's room, she was looking out her window, seemingly upset.

"Hello Catherine. What's wrong?" He stood by her bedside.

She turned to look at him, her eyes swollen from crying.

He suddenly became more concerned. "What is wrong, Catherine?"

"Didn't Nick tell you?" Her voice was wracked with emotion.

"I have not seen him today. What happened?"

She sniffled. "It's Greg. He's fallen apart. Nick brought him here to see me. He had been drinking and Nick said he had given him a hard time. When he came in here to see me he froze and then he started freaking out. I think he was seeing Tyler again. Nick came up behind him and he started fighting Nick, like he was fighting for his life. He would not stop. They finally came in and sedated him. They are keeping him here in a room under observation. He has a new doctor, Dr. Jack Fuller. He was just in here telling me they had to sedated him again as he tried to leave and got violent again. They have him restrained."

Grissom gazed down in deep thought. He had not realized Greg had gotten so bad. He supposed seeing Catherine get shot was probably his real breaking point. He wished he had paid better attention to Greg when they were at the crime scene. Sara was able to see he needed help, but all he was focused on was the evidence left at the scene. He should have focused on his CSI's more.

Catherine was upset and she was supposed to be recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Things really were a mess.

"Well at least he is going to get the help he needs now. I have faith he will get through this, Catherine," he tried to reassure her.

She sighed heavily. "I really hope you are right."

"I'll go check on him for you," he said to her.

"You can't. They told me he is not allowed any visitors right now."

Grissom frowned. It sounded worse than he thought if they were not allowing visitors.

"Well, if there is anything you need, let me know. You both are going to be okay," he told her. He smiled at her as he left.

He woke up slowly. He knew he had another nightmare but it was muddled up again and strange. He opened his eyes and heard the familiar beeping sounds. He was in the hospital again but he could not remember why. He tried to lift his hand and saw that he was restrained. Then he remembered some of what happened before. As he tried to remember details, his head throbbed. He really needed his painkillers.

He pulled against the restraints around his wrists. He started to feel the panic come over him again as his troubled mind told him he was too vulnerable in this position and Tyler would be able to get to him. He started fighting harder against the restraints to get loose.

A nurse came into the room after seeing his heart monitor showing an increase at the nurses' station. "Mr. Sanders, you need to calm down. You are stressing out your heart too much."

Greg looked at her after he failed in his efforts to break the restraints. She looked fresh out of college, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and blue eyes determined.

He sighed not seeing her as threatening and relaxed a little bit. "Why am I in these restraints? I'm not a criminal." He was not mad, but scared.

"We can't have you leaving the room and you keep trying to. Plus the last two times you became violent and hit someone, so until your doctor says it is okay, you have to remain restrained," she told him calmly.

His eyes darted around the room, searching for his demons. "No one can get to me here, right?" He asked in a small voice.

She looked around the room, curiously then smiled politely at him. "No, you are safe here."

He nodded, seemingly to accept that, although he was not completely convinced.

"Do you need anything?" she asked him.

"Out of these restraints," he said coyly.

She frowned. "Besides that."

"I have a massive headache. Can I get my pain pills?"  
"We can only give you aspirin at this time. Do you want me to get you some?"

He sighed, "I guess."

She smiled. "Okay, I will be back with some in a moment."

He watched her leave then fought against the restraints again. He hated feeling trapped and not being able to escape. He thought of how Tyler would love his situation right now. Even thinking of him sent chills down his spine again, but the problem was he was always in his mind lately. He could not shake his fear that somehow he was still alive, out there to get him. He wished he could shake the feeling but he could not. He closed his eyes as the fear started taking over him again.

He was startled when the pretty young nurse came back in. His fear had become overwhelming again, causing him to get emotional.

"Mr. Sanders, are you okay?" She noticed he seemed to have been crying.

He wanted to wipe his eyes but he could not. Again he tugged at the restraints in frustration. "Yeah, I'm great," he said, thick with sarcasm.

She looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, I know it has to be frustrating. I got your aspirin here." She poured some water in a cup and placed a straw in it. She held the aspirin up to his mouth. "Open up."

He rolled his eyes, feeling like a child and opened his mouth so she could give him the aspirin.

She gave him the pills then let him take a swig of the water to swallow them down.

"Thanks…" he looked at her nametag, "Beth."

She smiled at him. "You're welcome, Mr. Sanders."

"Please, can you use my first name, Greg?" He asked her. Mr. Sanders reminded him too much of his dad.

"Okay Greg. If you need anything, other than having the restraints removed, use the call button. It is by your right hand."

He nodded solemnly to her. She smiled and then left him alone.

The Mr. Sanders made him think of his dad. He was glad his dad was not around to see what had become of him. He figured his dad would be disappointed in him, disappointed that he was not man enough to stand up to Troy and Tyler; that he got himself into these stupid situations.

He grew upset with himself again and started thrashing at the restraints. He hated being held down. He gave up finally and closed his eyes.

_"Trapped like an animal, makes it so easy for me to take this knife straight across your neck,"_ Tyler's voice came to him in his head.

Greg's eyes flew open and they darted around his room looking for the voice's source. He saw no one and knew once again his mind was playing tricks on him. Tears came to his eyes again as he felt defeated and despair enveloped him. He could not deal with this much longer. He wondered if he would ever be right again, as he stared out the window at the Las Vegas night.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"Am I able to see Greg yet?" Catherine asked her doctor the next day after being told she was improving nicely.

"That would be up to Dr. Fuller if he is willing to let him have visitors yet," her doctor told her.

"I just would feel better if I could see him," Catherine told her.

"I'll see for you, okay? In the meantime, just rest and I will let you know."

Catherine appreciated her doctor trying to help her out. She had not heard anything about how Greg was doing for over 36 hours. She wondered if he was still having his violent outbursts or what. She hoped she would be able to see him soon.

Dr. Fuller had come into the room while Greg was still sleeping. Nurse Beth had filled him in on her last encounter with the troubled CSI. He knew it was time to introduce himself.

"Mr. Sanders?" He said to wake him up.

Greg opened his eyes and saw a tall, slim man standing at the foot of his bed. The man wore a doctor's lab coat over a suit.

"Yes?" Greg said slowly and cautiously.

"Hello, I am your new doctor. I am Dr. Jack Fuller. I have taken over your case from Dr. Felix. I've talked to him extensively about your visits and I have spoken with your friends. I am here to help you, Mr. Sanders."

Greg studied him for a moment, figuring out on first impression if he liked him or not. He had a friendlier appearance than grumpy looking Dr. Felix. His grey eyes were honest looking enough. He would test him.

"You can help me by letting me out of these restraints," Greg told him

Dr. Fuller smiled. "I'm sure you would love that, but not quite yet. I'm not convinced you won't try to leave the hospital if I take them off."

Greg looked at him more seriously. "You hardly know me. How could you know what I might do?"

Dr. Fuller smiled again. "It is called experience, Greg."

Greg's jaw clenched in anger. "I fell like a damn criminal here."

"I know it is unpleasant for you but it is necessary now for your own sake. You came here very much intoxicated and from what your friends have said you have been acting out of sorts for a couple weeks now." The doctor was looking at his notes. "You have been having bad nightmares and seem to think you see someone who is really dead." Dr. Fuller looked up from his notes at Greg, who was now staring down at his restraints.

Seeing that he struck onto something, Dr. Fuller continued on.

"Do you want to tell me who you seem to think is out to get you?"

Greg could not look at him anymore. He felt foolish and ashamed. "He's dead. I know, I killed him," he said in a somber tone.

"And by he, I assume you mean Tyler Renning," Dr. Fuller said to him.

Even hearing that name mentioned now made Greg extremely nervous. He nodded his head slightly. "Yes."

Dr. Fuller noticed Greg tightened up when he mentioned Tyler's name.

"So you think you have seen him recently?"

Greg sighed and rolled his head to the side, gazing out the window. "No, not really. He just…" Greg closed his eyes as he felt them start to tear up.

"He just what, Greg?" Dr. Fuller pressed him seeing it as a positive sign he was talking some about it.

"He won't leave me alone. He's always in my head," Greg said quietly as a tear dropped from the corner of his eye.

"Well Greg, that's why I am here, to help you get rid of him and whatever else troubles you," Dr. Fuller said to him in a kind voice.

Greg did not say anymore. He hated that he could not control his emotions anymore. He was still feeling so tired and helpless. He just wanted to be left alone again.

Dr. Fuller could see that he was not going to get Greg to talk anymore at the moment, but he made more progress than he expected to.

"I'm going to let you alone to think about things. I'll be back tomorrow to talk some more with you and depending on how things go maybe I can suggest how we are going to go about your sessions and maybe get out of here."

Greg finally looked at him again with surprise written on his face. "Really?"

Dr. Fuller was glad he managed to get a good response out of him. "Yes, now I am not saying it will be right away, but we will discuss it soon. Get some rest for now."

Greg nodded solemnly, still wishing he were not restrained to his bed. He felt incredibly alone and scared again, but scared of what had become of him more than anything else. He wondered what Catherine and all the others thought of him now. They would never look at him the same again and that upset him a lot.

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A few hours later Catherine was given permission to visit Greg. An orderly wheeled her down to his room. She prepared herself for how Greg might react to her. She expected him to be mad about allowing them to restrain him and keep him there.

When the orderly opened the door to his room, she could see him looking away towards the window ignoring whoever entered the room. The orderly wheeled her in by Greg's bed then left them alone.

Greg heard someone come in but figured it was just the nurse checking on him. He was not in the mood to be friendly with her, so he did not look to see her.

Catherine looked at the restraints around his wrists and felt a lump in her throat. She wanted to touch his hand but did not want to scare him. "Greg? It's Catherine."

Greg felt his heart stop a moment. It was Catherine, not a nurse. He suddenly felt so humiliated, lying there in that bed, tied down because he had freaked out the last time he was in the room with Catherine. He wished to God she was not there. He wanted to disappear into a deep hole. He did not want to look at her. He did not want to see the pity in her eyes over his situation. He could not help it but tears started coming on. He just wanted her to go away.

She could tell he heard her. She knew from what Dr. Fuller told her that he was coherent, so the only reason he would not be responding to her was because he was mad at her, like she figured.

"Greg, I'm sorry you are mad at me for letting them take you and keep you here. I spoke with your mother and filled her in and she agreed with the doctors. I know she is on her way to see you. I just want to make sure you get better. I care about you and hated seeing you self-destruct."  
Upon hearing that his mother knew about his situation, it tore him up even more. It was bad enough with Catherine seeing him like that, but his mother also? He wanted out of that bed and hospital so badly again. He tried to lift his hand to wipe away his tears but was immediately denied by the restraints.

Catherine saw his attempted movement and could now tell that he was not mad at her, but was upset and was crying and she gasped.

"Oh, I didn't mean to upset you. I should have never come. I'm sorry, Greg." Her voice was thick with sadness. She waited a moment to see if he was going to say something.

"Look, I will leave you alone. I can see you are not in the mood for me. I'll get the orderly to take me back," she said solemnly.

Greg did not want to face her, but he also owed her something after all he put her through.

She was just about to start wheeling herself away when she heard, "Wait!"

He finally rolled his head to face her. His eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from crying, but he did not look as sickly as he had before. She was glad to see he seemed more rested overall but more than likely that was due to him being sedated a couple times.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as his voice cracked, trying to keep his emotions in check.

She knew he was trying to avoid talking about his problems and she could live with that as long as he was talking to her.

"I'm feeling better everyday. My doctor says I should be able to go home in a couple days and continue my recovery there." She watched him as he slowly tried to compose himself.

"That's good to hear," he said to her. Seeing her face with normal color in it again and her clear blue eyes made him feel more at ease suddenly.

"How are Lindsay and Lily?" He wanted to stop thinking about his own problems for a while and focus on others.

She smiled. "They are better now that I am better. I have not told Lindsay about you being here, but Lily does know."

He turned his head partially away and stared up at the ceiling. The conversation was turning back towards him. He knew he would not be able to avoid it forever. He hated that what was happening to him was also affecting her family.

He shook his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry, Catherine. It's my fault all this happened to you. You never would have stepped foot in that store if…"

"Stop it right now," she interrupted him in a determined voice. "I will not have you blaming yourself for me getting shot. Remember back when I was trying to blame myself for leaving you alone in that room and YOU were the one who told me to not blame myself? Well here I am saying the same to you. I do not care how many ways you twist it, you are not responsible for what the crazy people we come across in this world do to you or me."

He looked over at her again. She looked pissed off and for some reason it made a small smile creep up on his face.

She saw him smile a little and was curious. "Why the heck are you smiling at me for? I am serious here, Greg!" Her eyes narrowed in on his.

"I know you are and for some reason whenever you get mad at me, it just fascinates me." He shrugged his shoulders a bit, the small smirk still on his face.

She huffed, but then realized she made him smile and lightened up. "Well, I guess being able to fascinate you still is a good thing, but I am serious. Please do not blame yourself for anything that has happened."

He nodded. "I will try not to. It's just," he sighed. "Never mind." And he looked away again, the smile gone.

She frowned. "You can tell me anything, remember that." She placed her hand gently on top of his. He did not even attempt to pull it away which she assumed was because he knew with the restraints on he could not.

"I know I can. It's just that…this," He could feel he was loosing grip on his emotions again. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I hate you seeing me like this, tied down like some animal. I feel like such a failure, a disappointment." He stared up at the ceiling as his eyes began to moisten again.

She knew how humiliated he must have felt. It tore her apart knowing how it was affecting him. "I'm sorry, Greg. I wish there was something I could do but your doctor seems to think you still will leave the hospital first chance you get. Would you?"

He thought about it for a moment. Yes, if he had a chance he would still break free from having to be in the hospital. He still felt too venerable there and was not entirely convinced he was safe there. He knew it was foolish deep down but on the surface he was still unsure. "I'd probably run like hell," he admitted to her.

She sighed. She just wished she could hold him and comfort him like she had before. Instead she reached over and turned his face towards her, to talk to him face to face.

She saw the broken look in his big brown eyes and tried to hold it together herself for him. "Greg, I care about you and yes, I hate seeing you like this but if this leads to you no longer having nightmares and constantly being afraid, then I think it is worth it. We all just want you to get better, Greg. Don't you want that too?"

His eyes brimmed with tears. He nodded, "Yes, I do, I guess."

She smirked at him. "You guess?"

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do. I just want you to be able to laugh again. I miss your beaming smile," she said flirtatiously, hoping to get a brief smile out of him.

She was successful, even if he only gave a little grin. "See that was not so hard now, was it?"

"I guess not," he said as he yawned.

"Have you been getting some sleep finally?"

"Yeah a bit. To some point being sedated is nice, sleep without nightmares pretty much."

She smirked again. "Glad you can find some positive in the negative." She was starting to feel tired herself.

"Well I guess I will go for now and let you get some more sleep. Believe it or not, you do look better than the last time I saw you."

He seemed surprised. "Yeah?"

"Yes, you look more rested but you are still too thin looking," she scolded him.

He rolled his eyes again and then lifted his restricted hands. "It is hard to eat with these on."

"They aren't feeding you?" She was shocked.

"Well, yes they are but they only free up my right hand and watch me like a hawk as I eat. Needless to say, it is not the best eating environment," he frowned.

"I'm sorry. It will get better, I am sure. But for now I'm going to go and I have complete confidence that things will get better for you. And remember, I still love you no matter what," she said as she squeezed his hand.

He gazed at her. He still loved her too, but his guilty conscious would not allow him to admit it for some reason openly to her now.

"You get better too. No more getting shot, okay?" He said with seriousness, knowing he would lose himself without her.

"I'll be careful, I promise," she smiled at him. She called for the orderly to take her back to the room. He came in and took her away. She waved goodbye to Greg.

He watched her leave and realized she was his medicine to make him feel better and yet he felt most guilty when she was around. He wondered if her feelings were as strong as his were. As of lately, he doubted it. He caused her more worry and pain than anything else. He was too tired to dwell on it at the moment though. He would take the little uplifting boost she gave him and sleep on it.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

She was starting to hate this hospital as she walked up to the nurse's station. She was tired of her son ending up in it.

She got his room number and went to see him. When she entered his room, he was sleeping. She entered quietly and sat down at his bedside. She had been told he was still in restraints but seeing them on his wrists still shocked her.

She gazed upon his face. She was glad he looked better than the last time she had seen him in the hospital. Of course the circumstances were different this time around. Her son was a victim of his own mind.

His hair had grown out a bit since the last time she saw him. A few curls peeked out around his ears and neck. She smiled to herself thinking how he changed his hairstyles almost with every season. She was glad he had worn his hair in more civilized styles in the past couple of years.

She sat there patiently, watching her son sleep, not wishing to wake him up. After about ten minutes she noticed he started to become agitated in his sleep. He started mumbling words she could not understand and was moving around some. She knew it had to be a nightmare. She had heard from Catherine over the phone about how bad his nightmares had been. She did not want to see him having them. She was not sure if she should try to wake him or not, but she did not have to as suddenly he opened his eyes.

The dream had been muddled again in some parts but he knew it involved Tyler taunting him again. He woke up and immediately saw his mom sitting at his bedside. He knew she would be coming since Catherine warned him, but after the nightmare it threw him off.

"Mom, how long have you been here?" He asked her, his eyes wide with a touch of leftover fear from his nightmare.

She smiled at him. "Just a little while. How are you doing?" She could see the anxiety in his eyes.

"I've been better," he sighed, trying to relax his nerves from the images of Tyler floating around in his head.

"I know you have. What happened to you, my son?" She ran her hand through his hair in a tender gesture.

That little gesture threw off the control he had been holding on to. "I guess I am cracking, like Humpty Dumpty," he tried to joke, but his voice gave away his sadness.

"Always trying to make light of a situation but this time is different, Greg. You know it and I do. You've been through so much."

He stared down at the foot of the bed, avoiding her gaze. "I know, but I am a CSI. I see death and crime everyday at work. I should be able to deal with this better."

She laid her hand over his as he was starting to tug at the restraints. She could see he was fighting his oncoming tears.

"My God, Greg, that is completely different. When you are working a scene you are looking at things that happened to other people. You were beaten nearly to death, slashed and stabbed by a lunatic and then left to die of starvation and thirst in some cellar for days. All of this happened to you physically, you, your body in only a little over a years' time. No one could get through all of that without cracking some."

He stopped trying to hold back his tears. "I wanted to be strong for Catherine, for my co-workers, for you and for…" he sniffled, "For Dad." Tears streamed down his cheeks, helpless to wipe them away himself. He started pulling at the restraints in frustration that he could not be free to do anything. "Arrgh!" He cried out in frustration.

His mother could not stand seeing him so broken up. "I miss your father too, but you can't do this to yourself. No one ever said you had to be tough for us."

He just shook his head. "I hate these things," he cried out about the restraints. He could not take feeling so helpless anymore.

His mother did not care if she got in trouble but she could not see him struggle anymore. She started unbuckling his right restraint.

He looked at her with watery eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to sit here and watch you struggle against these things anymore. It is only hurting you more."

He stared at her wide-eyed, surprised she was freeing him. Once she had his right hand free he unbuckled the other one. When he was completely freed he leaned over and gratefully hugged his mother.

"Thank you so much, Mom," he told her as his sobbing subsided now that he was no longer feeling trapped.

She pulled out of his embrace and stared at him in his eyes. "Now don't make me regret doing this."

He shook his head. "I won't. I promise on Dad's grave."

She smiled solemnly at him. "I know loosing him during all of this had to have made it that much harder on you. I know you always looked up to him and he was so proud of you."

Greg looked at her, his eyes filled with sorrow. "He would have been disappointed in me now."

"Nonsense and you know that deep down. He loved you so much. You never heard how he bragged to our friends after you told us you became a CSI. He was so proud how you were willing to even take a pay cut to do what your heart wanted to do. And as for now, it would have torn him up like it tears me up to see you suffering so, but there would have been no disappointment, only love. You are our only child. You really could do no wrong in our eyes," she beamed at him with moist eyes.

"Yeah? He never really told me that he was proud of that move I made."

"Well unfortunately, that was your father. You know he only liked saying those things in person and you had not seen us after that point."

Greg looked down and fingered the blanket. "Yeah I know, but now being a CSI…" he stopped and sighed.

"What, Greg?" She asked him in her soft motherly tone, knowing there was something he was trying to say.

He looked up at her, apprehension on his face. "I'm not so sure I want to be out in the field anymore. None of this craziness would have happened most likely had I stayed in the lab."

She contemplated what he said for a moment. "Perhaps not, but you got to follow what your heart tells you. And if now it is the lab, then go with it. But overall I say wait it out, talk to your doctor about it. I am not the expert here."

He gave her a small grin. "Not exactly, but you did have a minor in psychology if I remember correctly."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, what can I say? I might have been cut out for bigger things than just being an English teacher."

"I'm glad you are here, mom. I only hope that…" he trailed off as Dr. Fuller came into the room.

"Well, sorry to interrupt." He walked over to Greg's mother who stood up as he entered the room.

"You must be Greg's mother. The nurse told me you had come to see him." He shook her hand.

"Yes, I am. Pamela Sanders," she greeted him.

Dr. Fuller looked at Greg and noticed his restraints were taken off.

Greg noticed he saw and got worried suddenly that he would put them back on him.

"Well, I see the restraints have already been removed," he said looking at Mrs. Sanders. Then he turned to look at Greg, who he could tell was worried.

"I was coming to remove them anyway, so that part of my job is done."

Greg heaved a sigh of relief.

"So how are things today, Greg?" Dr. Fuller asked him. Both he and Greg's mother stared at Greg.

Greg felt uncomfortable all of the sudden, leery he might give the wrong answer.

"A little better I guess. Well a lot better not being tied down anymore."

"You're not having any urges to run away are you?" Dr. Fuller wanted to confirm with him.

Greg looked to his mom and gave a little smile. "I promised I would stay put, no matter what."

Dr. Fuller smiled thinking that perhaps Greg Sanders was not as screwed up as he first thought, now that his body was not intoxicated anymore.

"That's really good to hear, Greg. Well, I will come by later to check in with you." He turned to Greg's mother. "Nice to meet you. Hopefully you will stick around for a while. I think it would be helpful."

"I planned to," she told him then looked at her son, who had lowered his gaze, as he knew they were now staring at him.

Dr. Fuller left them and Greg still was looking down.

"He's gone now, it's safe to pick up your head," she smirked, as he looked out of the corner of his eyes and glared at her.

"Gosh, I hate this," he grumbled.

"What? Me sticking around to keep an eye on you?"

"No, well yes. I mean I hate that I am causing you more difficulty just after loosing dad. You don't need this."

She could see he was getting upset with himself again and it bothered her.

"Greg, I've already told you, I love you and that you are all I have left. I would do anything for you and that means being here when you need me."

He wanted to say he did not need her around but he would have been lying to himself. He dreaded that she was there at first, but now he realized she was helping him feel more comfortable.

"Okay," he sighed as he twiddled his thumbs.

"Just okay? Well I guess that means you will live with me sticking around. Do I really make you feel that uncomfortable?"  
He frowned. "No, not really. It's just me. I hate feeling like everyone pities me. You've been great though. I mean you drove me a crazy when you were staying with me before but that is because I was not use to having you around and under my feet."

She looked down now. "I see. So I will leave next time when I am unwelcome, you just let me know."

He knew he somehow upset her by what he said and he did not know how to fix it. He was still too screwed up to know how to fix his own problems. Irritated, he closed his eyes and shook his head.

_"You are even a wuss when it comes to dealing with your own mother. What a pathetic excuse for a human being you are. I should have finished you off when I had the chance,"_ Tyler's voice whispered in his head.

"What?" He exclaimed as his eyes flew open and he looked around the room frantically searching for Tyler.

His mother looked at him strangely. "I did not say anything. Who are you looking for?"

He looked at her and she saw an incredible fear in his eyes that was not there before. She also noticed he was shaking some. She got very worried suddenly.

"Greg, what's wrong?"

He looked away from her and buried his face in his trembling hands.

"Greg?" She asked again, her voice thick with concern.

He just shook his covered face. "It's nothing," he replied in a shaky voice.

She noticed he started slightly rocking back and forth. It was something he did as a child when he was greatly upset or scared about something. She remembered he did it often after his two friends were killed before he started getting counseling. Recognizing the movement pained her knowing he was deeply troubled.

"What happened, Son?" She asked again praying he would not suddenly close himself off to her as he had back then.

He shook his head. "Why won't he leave me alone?" His voice cracked with agony.

"Who?" She asked with grave concern.

When he did not answer she laid her hand very gently on his back. He jumped and looked at her with feral eyes, wide.

She withdrew her hand quickly, tears welling up in her eyes as her son before her became a terrified child.

"Greg, it's…. it's just me, your Mother," she wept as he stared at her like he did not recognize her.

Slowly she saw his lips start to quiver as his eyes started to water up. "Mom?" He sounded so broken to her.

She nodded her head. "It's just me, Sweetie." She was able to take his hand and hold it.

He started shaking his head, unable to control his sobbing. "I'm sorry. I'm so messed up, Mom. Why does he keep coming back? Why can't he leave me alone?"

She moved over and let him cry on her shoulder. It was crushing her seeing him so distraught. "I don't know why, Sweetie. I wish I did. I wish I did," she repeated softly as he held on to her tightly.

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Catherine stared up at the ceiling thinking about everything that had happened in the past few months and how much her life had changed.

She somehow fell in love with Greg Sanders after going through the Tyler Renning and Jessica Myers murders together. Of course they had worked together for years but it was only recently her feelings for him had become strong. He had been super sweet to her too and then everything went wrong again. His nice gesture to have a little getaway for the two of them turned into a nightmare.

She thought about how well Greg held up mentally when they were trapped and left to die. Even during their recovery he hardly seemed to be affected. She should have seen that as a sign things might go bad.

He had nightmares before and they had bothered him before but this was on a whole new level. He was not the same anymore and she wondered if he ever would be again. She loved him but she even wondered if she would be able to handle him being so different.

She shook her head trying to not think so negatively. Greg would be fine after he had some real counseling, she had to believe that. She could not stand the thought that her happy-go-lucky Greg was gone forever. She prayed that he would be able to fight his demons and move on again.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

He felt tired even though he had not been doing anything but sleeping most of the day but he had just finished his first real session with Dr. Fuller. Dr. Fuller had been in his room waiting for him to wake up and was witness to one of his nightmares. He had seen him start to thrash about and yell out. He let him wake naturally out of it. When he had he saw the fear and confusion in Greg's eyes and he knew exactly what he had to deal with.

Greg reluctantly discussed what he remembered of the dream to Dr. Fuller, knowing he had to talk to take the steps he needed towards feeling better. He did like Dr. Fuller though much better than Dr. Felix. He felt he listened to him and was trying to diagnosis how to make him better. Dr. Fuller did not push him either, he let him go at his own pace, but he still felt it was going to be a long road.

He sighed as he stared out the window at the darkening sky. He heard a knock on his door and turned to see Nick and Sara walk in.

"Hi Greg," Sara said awkwardly as she stepped in.

Greg gave her a weak smile. He really had not been looking forward to seeing his co-workers or more like them seeing him as he was. He could already tell by the looks on their faces that they were leery if he might attack them or break into tears, the later being more likely to happen.

Sara came over slowly and sat down in the chair by his bed. Nick came over cautiously and Greg suddenly saw a bruise on his jaw. He did not remember hitting Nick but was told that he had. He felt really guilty all of sudden.

"I'm sorry about how I acted the other day, Nick," Greg apologized.

Nick put his hands up. "No, no need to apologize, Greg. You weren't yourself, I know that. I'm just glad you are getting the help you need."

Greg bowed his head, finding it hard to look his friends in the eyes. He did not know what to say.

Sara and Nick looked at each other, both also finding it hard to find something to talk about.

Finally Greg asked something. "Does everyone know?"

"Does everyone know what, Greg?" Sara asked in a soft voice.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Does everyone know what is wrong with me? Why I'm in the hospital?" he asked in a pained voice.

"No Greg. Most have been told you have taken a leave of absence. No one knows you are in here but those who need to know," she told him gently.

"So I'm not going to hear Hodges knocking on me when I get back to work about me being crazy or anything," he asked cautiously.

"No, you shouldn't, but if he does let me know. I'll knock him silly for ya," Nick grinned trying to get Greg to smile some.

Greg just solemnly said "thanks."

Again silence filled the room as Greg's eyes wondered towards the ceiling.

Sara spoke up finally. "Did you hear that they moved Troy to the jail infirmary today?"

Greg had not heard anything about Troy since Catherine was shot. He was surprised to hear he was just moved.

"Yeah, just today? What's wrong with him anyway?"

"He can't talk right now, his larynx was damaged. Otherwise he was recovering from his abdomen wound," Nick told him.

Greg was quiet a moment, contemplating whether it was good that Troy was alive to stand trial or if he would have been better off dead.

"Do they expect him to be able to talk again?" he asked.

"They think so, but it will take speech therapy for him to get it back and that could be a while," Sara told him.

Greg actually thought it would be interesting to talk to him and taunt him some since he could not talk back. He wondered what Dr. Fuller would think of him doing that as some sort of messed up therapy for himself.

A little smirk formed on his face. Nick and Sara both noticed and wondered what it was about but decided to leave it alone.

Nick looked at his watch and saw the time.

"Hey Greg, it's time for us to head to work. We'll see you in a day or two, okay?"

"Okay," Greg nodded at them.

Sara gave his hand a squeeze before leaving. "Take care."

He returned a small smile as they left his room. He rolled over onto his side to sleep, as his lower back was a bit sore. He wasn't on any pain medications anymore and he could tell.

He tried to stay awake, not wanting to have any nightmares again but Dr. Fuller advised him his lack of sleeping caused him to dream more actually. He said he would be better off getting as much sleep when possible, so Greg decided to give it a try.

When he woke up in a sweat a few hours later after suffering from another nightmare, he silently cursed his doctor out. He was frustrated with not being able to shake the sound of Tyler's menacing voice from his head.

He was getting perturbed with himself again when he heard someone walk in. He immediately turned over to see who it was. He regretted turning over when he saw the one person he dreaded the most seeing him in the hospital due to his mental state; Grissom.

"Hello Greg," Grissom said to him as he came in the door.

Grissom had been putting off seeing Greg. He was good at dealing with evidence and facts, but not with human emotions. The problem was he could not relate to all of what Greg had to be going through. Greg had been through more hell in the last year and a half than Grissom had experienced in a lifetime. Grissom was not sure how to be around Greg, how sensitive he might be. He did not want to make things worse for him, but he could not stay away from him forever.

"Grissom," was all Greg could say. He already felt his nerves kicking in. Greg always looked up to Grissom and hated disappointing him and he felt that his current condition was probably a major letdown to him. He had not been strong; he had even turned to alcohol to try to drown out his problems. He knew Grissom had to know he had been restrained at some point and it totally crushed him.

Grissom stood at the foot of his bed, pondering what to say next, even though he thought he knew what he was going to say earlier on, seeing the worry and sadness in his young CSI's eyes rendered him speechless for a moment.

"So I hear you prefer Dr. Fuller over Dr. Felix now. That is good to hear," Grissom finally said to him.

Greg could not bring himself to look Grissom in the eyes so he looked to the side. "Yeah, that is right."

"Greg, I know this is not easy for you, but I am sure in time things will be better," Grissom told him.

Greg nodded slightly while staring down at the foot of his bed. "I sure hope so," he mumbled.

Grissom could see his CSI was not in much of a talking mood, but he was going to try anyway.

"Is your mother in town again?"

"Yeah she's been to see me. She's going to be sticking around until she is satisfied I'll be okay."

"Well I think it is always good to have family around in times like these," Grissom smiled a little.

Greg had other things on his mind though and paid no attention to his smile. "I've been thinking that I might not be able to handle being out in the field anymore," his voice quivered, nervous to admit it to Grissom.

Grissom looked thoughtfully for a moment at Greg. Greg had worked so hard to become a CSI. He even gave Greg a second chance to pass his test and Greg succeeded. He had been so happy to get out of the lab. It was hard to think that he would not want to be back out in the field again.

"I know you are probably disappointed that I don't want to do it anymore," Greg said solemnly.

Grissom could see that Greg was getting disconcerted about how Grissom might take the news.

"No Greg, I wouldn't be disappointed in you if you did not want to be out in the field any longer. I know it can be tough out there day after day seeing blood, death and murderers."

Greg still avoided Grissom's gaze. "I bet you would not do it if you were me."

"Honestly Greg, I can't answer that. I have no idea what you are going through. I do not know what I would do if I were in your shoes. I hope to never be in your position, Greg. Meaning no disrespect, but what you have been through I would not wish upon anyone."

Greg gravely nodded his head, a tear escaping from his eyes. He still felt like everyone would think less of him if he went back to being in the lab.

Grissom eyed Greg carefully and could see the turmoil he was in. "Don't worry about it yet. You still have time to weigh your move as far as work is concerned. Just worry about getting yourself straightened out right now, Greg. That's all I care about."

Greg finally lifted his moist eyes towards Grissom. "Okay, I'm trying."

Grissom smiled. "That's all you can do for now. Take care, Greg. I will talk to you later on this week."

"Thanks Grissom. Bye."

Greg stared after him as he left. He had mixed feelings on how that visit went. He was not completely sure he believed Grissom was not somewhat disappointed in him. He just wished he was normal again, that Tyler would stop invading his dreams and other aspects of his life.

He rolled back onto his side, as his depression got worse. He was lying there a few minutes before he heard the door open again. This time he figured it was his nurse checking on him so he did not bother turning around. He hoped she would not stay long and go away.

Catherine had just finished having a visit from Grissom where he told her he talked to Greg. She thought Greg could use a visit from her so she called her nurse to get her to take her over to see him.

She saw him lying on his side away from her viewpoint when she came in. She figured he might have been sleeping. The orderly left her alone in the room with him. She sat there for a moment pondering whether to wake him up or what. She actually just liked being in the room with him. It comforted her to know she was there for him.

Greg knew someone was still in the room with him and wondered suddenly who it was since they were not saying anything. With his back turned to him or her, he immediately thought Tyler was there to slash his back again. He quickly turned around and scared Catherine half to death.

He looked terrified. "Greg, I'm sorry. It's just me. I thought you were sleeping. I didn't mean to scare you," she said quickly. She could see that she definitely had scared him and she suspected he thought she was someone else, someone probably being Tyler Renning by the look in his eyes.

Once he realized it was Catherine, he felt foolish and almost wished it had been Tyler so he could end Greg's insanity.

He had sat up when he spun around, so now he laid back down, closing his eyes pissed off that once again he thought Tyler was there. He knew he killed him and yet he still kept thinking he was out to get him. He started banging his head into his pillow.

Catherine stared at him in alarm when he started doing this. He had not said a word to her yet so she did not know what was going on.

"Greg, are you okay?!"

He stopped banging his head and just squeezed his eyes shut tighter, fighting the oncoming tears that rushed forth again.

"No! I'm not okay! That's why I'm here, isn't it?" He yelled out. He did not want her to see him like this. He rolled back onto his side away from her.

This action hurt her but yet she understood. The anguish in his voice had been heartbreaking. She knew he hated her seeing him cry and could tell that is what he was doing now. She did not know what to do for him anymore.

"I'm sorry, Greg. I just want to help you but I do not know how to anymore."

She could hear him sniffling but he did not say anything. After a couple minutes of no one saying anything she made a decision.

"I will leave you alone." She waited a beat to see if he would stop her but this time he did not. She sadly wheeled herself to the door where the orderly waited outside to take her back to her room.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N-**_I have finished writing this story awhile ago and I just have not had a chance to really type it up until recently. So I am posting two chapters tonight. I plan on finish posting this story next week. I have already started writing a new one, not a sequel to this one though...a brand new Greg/Nick drama...not Slash though. It is a really tense one...so keep your eyes open for that one to come after this one if you are a fan of my stories. And to those of you who are fans and keep reading and reviewing, thank you so much. Writing is really a great release for me and when I get rolling on a story I cannot stop. _

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Chapter 28

It was a sunny and cool late November day and Catherine felt refreshed to finally be out of the hospital. Her mother had come to pick her up to take her home. She wanted to see how Greg was doing before she left but he was with Dr. Fuller at the time. She figured maybe it was better this way since their encounter the day before did not go so well.

She was grateful to finally be home again. It was only five days before Thanksgiving so she was glad that she would be home for that and for her daughter.

She would not be returning to work for another week yet. She was glad she would have the time at home to spend with her family.

She wondered about Greg though, worried if he would still be in the hospital for Thanksgiving or would he be allowed to go home. She hoped he did not have to spend it in the hospital. She knew his mom was around so at least she could be there for him, if anything.

She wondered what course of treatment Greg would be going through. She had not talked to his doctor recently so she had no idea if any progress was being made. After her last encounter with him she was thinking not much had been made. She wondered if they would ever be the same as a couple again or if they would even remain together. The way he kept acting, she started to thinking it was going to be harder to be with him.

* * *

"So Greg, it is up to you. What do you want to do?" Dr. Fuller asked him. Greg looked between the doctor and his mother. 

Dr. Fuller had discussed options for his course treatment with him. He gave Greg a few choices, one choice to check into a special treatment center for a month, which Greg did not want to do. His other two choices involved outpatient sessions, one staying in Las Vegas or the other, at his mother's suggestion, going back home to California with her for a bit of time to get away from the source of his problems.

Greg actually liked the idea of being away from Las Vegas for a while. He would not have to deal with all his friends constantly seeing if he was okay or not. He could get a break from constantly seeing stuff on the news about Troy Drye and his case. The two things working against that choice was staying with his mother, but she promised him she would give him his space and he had to admit she had been helpful so far with him.

The other major thing was being away from Catherine for at least a month or more. He was not sure their relationship would survive the absence since they were already on somewhat shaky grounds.

His mother could see that he was struggling with the choice he had to make. She asked Dr. Fuller if he could leave them alone for a moment.

"Why did you ask him to leave?" Greg asked her after the doctor left the room.

"Because I wanted to talk to you about what I think is making your decision hard on you. It's about Catherine, isn't it?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "When did you become a mind reader?"

She smiled. "Don't you know Mother's know all?"

He snorted. "Funny. Okay so I am worried about being away from her for a longer period of time than we've ever been apart. We are already on rocky ground with, well because of me," he said sadly.

She frowned. "Well before your father and I were married, your Grandpa Olaf got very sick. I had to go back home to New York to help take care of him. I was worried after being gone two whole months if your father had found someone else while I was gone or not. We kept in touch via phone once a week, but still you wonder. Well, in our case, the time away from each other made us appreciate and love each other more once I was back. Absence did make the heart grow fonder. So what I guess I am saying is if you two are meant to be together, this would be a true test."

Greg pondered what his mother told him. Maybe this is what they needed; to see if they could still be together after all that had happened.

He looked at his mother with appreciation. "Thanks. I think I've made my decision. Let's get Dr. Fuller back in here so we can get this started. I want to get back to normal as soon as I can," he smiled softly at her.

Catherine had just finished helping Lindsay with some homework when her phone rang. She picked it up and sat down on her sofa.

"Hello?" She asked when she did not look at who was calling.

"Uh, Catherine? It's me, Greg."

She was surprised to hear his voice and that he was calling her.

"Greg, what's going on?"

"Uh, first I wanted to apologize about the other night. I just…I was frustrated and sometimes it's easier for me to not have anyone around when I am like that."

"It's okay, Greg. It's just you freaked me out a bit again. You've been doing that a lot lately and I guess I am still not use to it." She said honestly.

"Well, uh, I'm going to be working on that, but not here," he said in a small voice.

"What do you mean, 'not here'?" She asked, able to tell it was something difficult for him to say.

"Um, Dr. Fuller gave me a few choices on how I could deal with my problems and the one I figured would be best for me takes me out of Las Vegas for a while."

She gasped. "You're not going to some mental hospital, are you?"

He chuckled a little cryptically at the thought. "No, he does not think I've totally lost my mind, thank goodness. I'm going home to California and staying with my mom, during which he has recommended a very good doctor who specializes with people who have post-traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Fuller says it seems that is pretty much what is going on with me. He's already started me on anti-anxiety pills to help me."

Catherine was speechless for a moment. He was going away, away from her. "How long do you think you will be gone?"

"I'm not really sure. It just all depends I guess."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow," he said with apprehension.

"Tomorrow?" She was shocked. "Why so soon?"

He could hear the bewilderment in her voice.

"Dr. Fuller said the sooner the better and faster I can possibly get straightened out," he said with a half-hearted chuckle, starting to feel really guilty about dumping this on her so out of the blue.

"I suppose. So I'm going to get a chance to see you before you leave, right?"

He hated this now. "Um, no. I'm sorry, Catherine. Things should have turned out better than they are. I never planned on getting so screwed up," he said as his voice started to choke up.

She sighed deeply, failing to not get upset. "I know you didn't. It's just…what does this mean for us?"

"Only time will tell I guess. I mean it's not like I'm not going to try to keep in touch with you. I'll still have my cell phone and my laptop with me so we can talk or email. I really don't know what my days will be like now. We'll just have to wait and see, okay?"

"Well I really don't have any say in the matter anyway. I mean, it is your life after all," she said in an irritated tone.

Greg had been pacing his bedroom floor. Dr. Fuller had released him that evening so he could go home and get ready to leave early the next morning. His mother was in the living room, waiting to see how his phone call went.

He sat down on his bed in frustration and exhaustion. "I'm sorry. I can't seem to do anything right by you anymore. I accept that I've upset you by leaving so suddenly but I think I just need to get away from everything right now that reminds me of what's happened and unfortunately that includes you. But this does not by any means mean I do not love you still because I do; I do with all my heart. If you had died that night…" his voice trailed off as he fought off the overwhelming fear he had thinking of losing her.

"You don't have to say anymore, Greg. I understand. I really do. I just thought I would be there to help you through this," she sniffled as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"You will be. Maybe not physically but in my heart you will be. I want to be back to who I used to be for you."

She smiled sadly to herself. "I just want you to be happy again, so if this is how you feel you need to go about it, I am behind you on it."

"Thank you, Catherine for understanding. I…I love you," he said empathetically.

"I know. So I guess I will hear from you whenever you contact me. Just take care, Greg."

"I will on both accounts. I promise. Bye."

He hung up the phone and sat there for a couple minutes letting the tears flow freely before he went back to the living room to let his mom know how it went. He knew by the tone in Catherine's voice that his decision was hurting her, even though she said she was behind him. She did not say she loved him back too and that touched on his fears. He hoped there would still be a future for them after all of this.

Catherine stared at the phone after she hung up, feeling like her heart was breaking. She grabbed a tissue and dabbed her eyes. She felt terrible not being able to say she loved him back, but at this point she was so hurt and confused she just could not do it. Her only consolation in him leaving was that hopefully he would return someday more like the man she knew so well with that infectious smile and his childlike energy, then it would all be worth the pain she was feeling now.


	29. Chapter 29Christmas Day

**A/N**-_Just a note on this chapter, it takes place about a month after the last one, that is why I have Christmas Day mentioned up front.  
_

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Chapter 29 

-Christmas Day-

He set down his bags and hugged his mom. "Thank you so much, Mom. You have been amazingly understanding and so helpful. You gave me my space when I needed it and were there for me just the same. I could not have done this without you."

Pamela Sanders looked proudly at her son. He had come a long way in a month. She was now confident the course of treatment he took was best. He was smiling again and no longer the scared boy she had seen over a month ago.

"Well, I am glad it has all worked out. Seeing you smile again is the best gift you could give me for Christmas. I just wish you could stick around a while longer, but I completely understand your motive for heading back today."

"You know you could always move to Las Vegas and be closer to me, I mean since Dad is gone now. I know he hated it," he said to her.

"Who knows? Maybe someday I will. I'm just happy to hear you inviting me to live in the same city you do," she smirked.

He chuckled. "Yeah, well you're not as overprotective as you use to be, so I know you will not hover over me anymore."

She smiled. "You're a grown man. I know that now and respect that. Just if you need anything, you know you can contact me anytime of the day." She hugged him tightly again as the announcement came over the PA that his flight was boarding.

"Take care and I love you," she told him.

"I love you too, Mom." He kissed her on her cheek and then grabbed his bags. He waved goodbye to her before he walked through the airport gate.

After taking a cab home and unpacking a few things, he drove over to Catherine's house. He had not talked to her in a couple days. In the past couple of weeks she had been so busy with work they hardly got a chance to talk. He had told her little of how this therapy was going, even though it had been going well.

She had no idea he was coming back home at this time. He was hoping to surprise her as a Christmas gift. He just hoped things would not be too awkward between them.

He stepped up to her front door and took a couple deep breaths to try to get rid of his nerves. He rang the doorbell and waited nervously for her to come to the door.

Catherine had spent a nice day at home with her daughter and mother. Being day shift supervisor had its perks; she was able to get some holidays off.

They had opened their gifts to each other in the morning and sat down for a nice mid-afternoon meal. After helping clean up the dishes from their meal, Lindsay and Lily went to the movies. Catherine bowed out, saying she wanted to work on some paperwork she brought home, but that was not the complete truth. She had been thinking about Greg, wondering how he was doing and spending his Christmas Day.

She felt guilty avoiding his calls and messages he had left for her a couple of days ago. Now she had not heard from him since.

She had called his cell phone earlier in the day, but it was turned off and when she called his mom's house, she just got voice mail. She simply wished him a Merry Christmas on the message and then hung up abruptly.

She was trying to concentrate on her paperwork but was finding it hard. Then she heard the doorbell ring. She wondered who was coming to her door on Christmas evening.

She got to the door and looked through the peephole. She had to take a second look, not believing her eyes.

She took a moment, trying to gather her scattered thoughts before opening the door. She slowly opened the door and saw a healthy looking Greg standing there, looking very apprehensive.

He broke into a small smile at seeing her totally shocked face. "Merry Christmas, Catherine." He studied her expression.

"Greg, what…when did you come back?" She still could not believe he was standing right in front of her.

"I just got in a couple of hours ago. I stopped at my place first and dropped off my bags and then came here. I wanted to surprise you and by your expression I would say I was successful." He let out a nervous little chuckle.

She blinked some but was still not really smiling, still mostly in shock at seeing him. He had not really been forthcoming about how he was doing with his counseling when they did talk. He had mostly steered the conversations towards how work was going for her. Now he stood before her after leaving abruptly a little over a month ago.

Noticing she was sort of speechless, he wondered if surprising her was such a good idea. "I forgot you really do not like surprises, do you? I should have probably called you first. I just thought you would be happy to see me." He was trying to sound happy, but he was having his doubts she was happy to see him. Maybe in his absence she fell out of love with him.

She realized his new happier demeanor was suddenly fading because she was stupidly so shocked to see him and did not know what to say. She also noticed how cold it was outside and he was still standing out in that cold. She shook her head out of her stupor.

"Gosh Greg, I'm sorry. I'm happy to see you, of course. Come on come inside. It's freezing out." She gestured for him to come in.

"Thanks. I was beginning to wonder if I should just turn around and leave," he said as he followed her inside to the living room.

"I mean I know you are probably still pissed I left without you really getting to say goodbye to me, I…"

She turned around suddenly, putting her hands up as if to stop his words from coming out. "No Greg. I was hurt at first but I knew you had to do what you felt was best for you."

She took in his appearance for a moment. He was dressed in black jeans and wore a dark green button down shirt under his black leather jacket. His hair had not been cut since she last saw him and he wore it slightly spiked up on top again and a bit longer in the neck. He looked like he was back to normal weight and looked well rested. But what she noticed most was that bit of spark was back in his beautiful eyes.

She smiled finally at him genuinely. "You look good, really good. So I'd say your decision has worked out then?" She wanted to know how he was really feeling.

She sat down on the sofa and patted it for him to sit next to her.

He took off his jacket first and then sat down. "I'm doing pretty good. I really am," he expressed when she looked at him skeptically.

"What? Did you think I would never say that again? That I actually feel better about my life?" Feeling a bit defensive, he wanted to know what she truly felt his prognosis would be.

She shook her head a bit surprised by his defensiveness. "No, no not at all. It's just been a little over a month since you've been gone. I'm just surprised you back already."

He raised his eyebrows at her response. "Really? And here I thought it was a long time, but that aside I am not completely done with my therapy. I'm just going to continue the rest here with Dr. Fuller again. I'm also still on anti-anxiety pills, but Sandra seems to think I'll be able to get off them in another month or so."

"Sandra?" Catherine asked, suddenly curious to who this new woman in his life was.

Greg saw her expression change and chuckled a little. "Sorry. Sandra was my psychiatrist in San Gabriel, Dr. Sandra Rhodes. She insisted I use her first name to feel more comfortable in our sessions and it worked." He shrugged.

Catherine felt jealous that some other woman helped him get better. "Was she pretty?"

Greg burst out laughing. "Are you jealous, Catherine Willows?"

She seemed aghast that he asked her that and pouted. "What? No, I was just…"

He held up his hand to stop her before she dug herself into a deeper hole. "She is like 60 years old with grey hair, Catherine. Hardly anyone to be jealous of."

Catherine felt her face flush from embarrassment. Luckily Lily and Lindsay coming in the door saved her from further embarrassment.

Greg turned around and saw them come in. He stood up as Lindsay came towards him.

"You're back!" She said as she gave him a hug. "I've missed you around here."

Greg smiled at her. "Well, I've missed you all too."

Lily came over and gave him a hug too. She gave him a proud look. "Glad to see you are doing better."

He nodded his head coyly. "I am too." He realized after he turned back around to look at Catherine that they had not even touched yet. He started to feel a bit worried that perhaps their relationship was forever damaged.

Lindsay speaking to him broke his thoughts. "Hey, I'm glad you're here. We got you something for Christmas."

"Oh that reminds me, I got you all something too. Let me go back out to my car and get them." He excused himself and went to get the gifts he had bought them.

Catherine sat uncomfortably; curious what Greg could have got her. She had not bought him anything; Lindsay and Lily had done the buying. She felt foolish and guilty now.

Greg came back in with a bag in his hand. He pulled out a small size box and handed it to Lily and then pulled out another box and gave it to Lindsay.

Lindsay went to the Christmas tree and grabbed a lone box sitting there. "Here this is for you."

Greg took it, grateful to her. He was going to wait to give his gift to Catherine when they were alone again. He had given Lily a little bell knowing she collected them. He gave Lindsay a new video game for her X-box.

They had given him a big box as a trick. Inside it had a little gift card for iTunes.

"I know you love your music and would use this. Grandma thought it was silly," Lindsay told him.

He shook his head. "No, you know me pretty well. I'll be using this up quick."

"Great. I'm going to play my game now. Thanks Greg," Lindsay said and took off to her bedroom.

Lily could see her daughter had been quiet and decided to let her have some more time alone with Greg. She knew Catherine had been struggling about her feelings for Greg in the last couple of weeks. His leaving abruptly had hurt her, even though she understood the reasons.

"I'm going to get ready for bed. It's been a long day. Have a good night, Greg. Catherine." She nodded to her daughter, giving her the look to talk to Greg after she left the room.

Greg sat back down next to Catherine again. He pulled out a little wrapped box out of the bag. "Here, this is for you," he said to, giving her a little encouraging smile.

She stared down at the small box in his hand, feeling like she did not deserve anything. As he handed it to her she pushed it back at him. "No, I can't take anything from you. I did not get you anything."

Greg sighed. "Catherine, please just open it. I don't need anything from you."

She took it slowly from him. She looked at him with hesitation.

"It won't bite, I promise," he smirked.

She gave in and took off the wrapping. It was a black velvet box, which meant some type of jewelry to her. She opened it slowly. Inside was a necklace with some sort of pendant on it with diamonds. She looked up at him, questioning on her face.

"It's an angel wing, for my angel," he said calmly, love in his eyes.

She looked back down at it, biting her lip, unsure of what to say. She was so confused, his coming back had taken her by such surprise she was unsure of her feelings.

Greg was beginning to feel that her feelings towards him had changed. He had to know the truth. He could not put his recovery on the line by waiting to find out.

"Catherine, I love you. Do you still love me?" She looked up at him, her eyes moist and mouth slightly parted as if she was trying to speak but nothing was coming out.

He took a gathering breath. "I need to know the truth. I don't want you to lie to me now and say you love me, because you think I am still fragile and might break down again. If you do not love me anymore, tell me now rather than break my heart later. I can deal with it if you just tell me now. I know my leaving was hard on you. I know you wanted to be there for me as I got help, but trust me; you were there with me. You supported me and that made all the difference. I've always thought of you as my guardian angel."

She blinked back tears, seeing the beautiful, sweet man before her who she had fallen in love with months ago. She knew her answer for sure now. She placed her hands on his face, his eyes intensely fixed on hers. "I do love you, very much. I've just been scared is all, but now you're here and I'm still just shocked, but I do love you." She drew his lips to hers for a slow, passionate kiss.

Still holding his face in her hands, she spoke again. "I was so afraid I was loosing you forever."

He grinned as he wiped a tear away from her cheek with his thumb. "Nah, just a bump in the road. Remember I always told you, you can't get rid of me that easily."

She giggled some now, dropping her hands from his face. "Yes, you have told me that a few times before."

Still smiling he looked down at the necklace. "So do you like it?"

She looked at him, her eyes full of unshed tears. "Yes, it's beautiful. When did you become such a romantic?" She teased him.

He feigned being hurt. "Uh, I've always been romantic, haven't I?"

"You've had your moments, I guess." She smirked.

He grinned at her and took the necklace out of the box for her. "Let me put it on you."

She turned around halfway so he could put it on. Then she turned back to him. "How does it look?"

"Almost as beautiful as the woman wearing it."

She felt herself blush. "I think you should go away and come back like this more often," she toyed with him as she tried to hide her embarrassment.

"So you like Greg 2.0, then?" He joked.

She smiled, so happy to hear him being able to joke about himself. "Yeah, I'll take him. You needed an upgrade anyway."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh, is that so?" His arms snaked up her back, pulling her closer to him and gazing intensely into her eyes. "Would you care to test the upgraded version; make sure there are no bugs or system glitches?" He playfully taunted as his fingers danced up her back.

She grinned, her lips only an inch away from his. "Sure but perhaps in the um, equipment room," she said as her eyes darted towards her bedroom.

"Equipment room, God, that turns me on even more," he smirked as he stood up with his hand clasping onto hers. "Let's go before my hard drive crashes," he quipped as they practically ran for her bedroom.

* * *

_ I personally loved writing the end of this chapter. I had fun with it. TBC..._


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N-**I hope you are all enjoying this. This is the second to last chapter.

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Chapter 30 

She lay with her head resting on his chest. She felt happy again and back to normal. She watched the rise and fall of his chest as he slept peacefully. She was glad she had the two days off in a row. She wanted the extra time to spend with him, to find out more about his month away.

"Hey sexy," he said to her when he woke up and saw her laying her head on his chest. He ran his hand over her bareback.

She looked up at him. "Hey yourself. You know I was noticing that your mom must have fed you well while you were gone." She poked his stomach as a gesture.

He peered down at his stomach then looked at her. "Are you calling me fat?"

"You'll never be fat, Greg," she laughed. "You just look good again, healthy. First time since before Tyler…" She stopped suddenly, leery of even saying his name around Greg.

He smiled at her. "It's okay to say his name around me. I won't flip out anymore, I promise."

"So can you tell me what happened that made Tyler seem to haunt you?" She propped herself on her elbow to see him better.

"Well it turns out that I was harboring some guilt about killing him, believe it or not." He watched as her eyes opened wide in surprise. "Yeah I know crazy, huh? A lot of it stemmed back from the Demetrius James thing. I guess I still had a lot of guilt about killing him and with that civil suit being settled it made me still feel guilty. Then when I killed Tyler, it added fuel to the fire. Because I was tormented by him on a more personal level, my guilty conscious used him against me as my own personal tormentor."

"But Greg, both were killed in self-defense."

"And I know that now Catherine. I mean Sandra, uh, Dr. Rhodes, really helped me get through the muck that was in my head. I mean I still get some nightmares. She said those will never go away completely, but they will lessen with time. But I am not seeing him anymore like I was before. He's out of my head in that sense."

She smiled with relief for him. "I'm so glad to hear that Greg. That last night I saw you…" She closed her eyes as it pained her to remember the terrified look in his eyes.

She felt him rubbing her back. "I know," he said quietly.

She gazed into his eyes, seeing some sadness in them but not like she had before. "You're better now, that is all that matters."

"That is true. Say shouldn't you be working today?"

"No, I have today off too, the advantages of being a supervisor."

He raised his eyebrows. "Ah I see."

"So have you thought about work and what you are going to do?" She asked him.

He stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know. A part of me is still leery of being out in the field where something can happen."

She entwined her fingers around his. "Yeah but you were in the lab when the explosion happened and look, we were not at work when we were kidnapped. Same with the convenience store, just bad luck, I guess."

He let out a breath slowly. "Yeah, well I sure hope my luck changes then."

She turned his head to face her. The sadness lingered in his eyes. "What does your heart tell you? Do you really want to go back to being in the lab or do you still want to be a CSI?"

A grin formed on his face. She looked at him oddly. "What are you smirking at?"

"Oh just something that I think is better to keep to myself right now." He knew that if he said she sounded just like his mom, she would cringe.

She huffed and turned away onto her side.

He chuckled and then rolled over and wrapped his arms around her. "You know I love it when you are mad at me," he whispered in her ear.

She sighed. "So about work, what do you want to do?"

"I think I will try the CSI thing and test my new boundaries."

She smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

They laid together for a few moments in silence. Greg was relishing the feel of her body spooned into his.

"I love you so much, Catherine."

She turned around in his arms to look into his eyes. His sparkle was back.

"I love you too," she said to him.

They kissed and Greg mumbled to her, "Time for another system reboot."

She grinned. "Agreed."

He sat in his car, nervous to go inside. She smiled as she walked out and saw him still sitting in his car. She went up to the passenger door, opened it up and sat down.

"So you know sitting out here in the car is not really too productive."

He turned his head, glaring at her. "I know. I'm just trying to work up what I am going to say to him. I just want to be prepared."

She chuckled at him. "You're not going for an interview, Greg. How long have you had Grissom as your boss now and you still get nervous around him?"

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. I'll go in. Nobody else is in yet, right? I don't want to be bombarded before I talk to him."

"The coast is clear for you now but if you don't go in soon it may not be."

"Okay, I am going." He looked over at her. "I'll see you at home then?"

"Yep, I'll want to hear how it all went." She got out of the car as he did and then she walked over to him for a quick kiss. "Good luck."

"Thanks." As he turned to walk away, he felt his butt being pinched. He turned around suddenly, total shock on his face.

"What the hell was that for?" He asked her, all flustered.

She shrugged with a huge grin on her face. "Just something I've always wanted to do."

He shook his head in disbelief and headed into the main building as she got in her car to go home.

"Greg, hey welcome back," the receptionist Judy greeted him.

He smiled at her. "Thanks." He kept on towards Grissom's office. Catherine had told him that Grissom was in early to do paperwork, so he came over as soon as he could to talk to him.

The door to his office was closed. He knocked on the door.

"Come in," he heard from the other side.

Greg took a deep breath and opened the door.

Grissom did not look up at first. "You can just drop off the results on my desk," he said as he flipped through his paperwork.

"Um, I don't do that anymore," Greg said sheepishly.

Grissom looked up suddenly, surprised to see him. "Greg! I'm sorry. Well this is a surprise. Come in and close the door."

Greg nodded and did as told.

Grissom removed his reading glasses and studied his young CSI. The last time he saw him was in the hospital where he was an emotional mess. Now he looked much better and no sadness in his eyes. He was glad to see Greg coming in on his own.

"You look good, Greg. I am assuming you are doing better now?"

Greg nodded. "Yes, I feel a lot better about things and I'm here to see what I need to do to get back to work."

Grissom raised his eyebrow in pleasant surprise. "Well it depends on what your plans are. Last time I remember you were thinking about perhaps getting out of the field."

"Yeah about that, I still want to be a CSI I've decided. I am pretty sure I can handle it again."

Grissom smiled proudly at Greg. "That's great to hear, Greg. Well after what happened, you will have to be evaluated by one of our doctors."

Greg nodded his head, figuring so much. "I understand."

"And assuming that all goes well, you will be out with the team again. Would you need any refreshing?"

Greg shook his head. "No I think I am good. I just want things to get back to normal again."

Grissom smirked a little. "So I assume by Catherine's mood today, you two are good again?"

Greg lowered his head, blushing a bit that Grissom could tell. "Yeah we are good."

"Well I am sure the others will be happy to see you back. We've all been thinking about you."

"I'm eager to see them too. I just wanted to talk to you first."

"Well I will get started on the paperwork for you and let you know the details."

"Thanks Grissom, thanks a lot for not doubting me, even when I doubted myself," Greg said honestly.

"I knew you were made of stronger stuff, Greg. You just needed to see it too," Grissom told him.

"Well thanks anyways. I'll let you get back to work now." Greg stood up to leave.

"Nice to see you back, Greg. I'm sure I'll be handing out assignments soon to you again."

Greg smiled. "Definitely!"

He walked out of Grissom's office feeling really good about himself. He went to the break room and figured he would wait there for the others to come in.

He heard voices coming down the hall. First through the door was Sara followed by Nick.

"Greg, oh my God!" Sara ran over to him and practically tackled him for a hug.

"Sara let the man breathe," Nick laughed.

She let go of him finally. "When did you get back?"

"Three days ago. I've just been laying low," he said to her with a smile.

Nick came over and patted him on the back. "Well welcome back. You look good."

"Thanks, so I've heard," he grinned.

"Greg, you're back. Nice to see you. Are you doing okay?" Warrick asked as he came in hearing all the commotion down the hall.

"Yeah, I'm doing great."

"When are you coming back to work?" Nick wondered.

"Well, I have to get an evaluation first, but then whenever I clear that I should be back."

"Be sure to let us know and we'll all go out and celebrate your return," Sara told him, smiling proudly.

"Sounds great to me," he beamed. He truly felt great for the first time in a long time.

Now that Greg was back and she was confident he was doing much better, Catherine decided it was time to visit Troy Drye again.

She sat in an interrogation room waiting for Troy to be brought in. He was able to at least whisper she knew now. She wanted to know why he did what he did.

He was brought in shackled hand to foot. An officer sat him down across the table from her. He snarled upon seeing her, his fierce blue eyes staring her down. She watched him in amusement.

"Damn mafia bitch," she heard him barely say under his breath.

"I am a CSI. I try to bring people who commit crimes in and mafia are those people too," she told him sternly.

"You let your father get away with murder," he roughly whispered.

He hit a nerve in her. She could not deny that Sam had killed. She knew it and hated it, but there was never real proof of it for a conviction.

"There was never any evidence to prove he did anything, unlike you, who was very sloppy with your work."

Troy grumbled. "Yeah right! The only reason you all caught me was because of you running into me at that store and shooting me. Otherwise I would have been long gone by now, like Will. It's just a shame my aim was off and did not make a killing shot."

She gritted her teeth. "So what really happened to make you hate the mob so much to seek revenge?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," he smirked.

She smiled. "Yes, I would. That is why I asked."

"Fine, it doesn't really matter now anyways. They killed my father, a loyal employee of the Vincetta family back in New York. They killed him because they thought he was a nark but he was not and they would not even let him explain. I saw him killed. They did not know I was hiding behind the dumpster in the alleyway. I disappeared just like his body did. I know he is somewhere at the bottom of the river. Anyway I heard they came out here to Las Vegas, well the son who killed my father, Ricardo came out here to start come casinos."

Catherine thought back to remember a Ricardo Vincetta being found shot dead a few years ago. It was a day case and she believed it was unsolved. "Wait, you killed him a few years ago?"

"No, I wish. Someone else got to him before I did, I swear. But I was pissed still and getting that job at your father's casino worked out well until the fight."

"How did you know he was my father? It was never made public. Only people close to me know it."

"I tended to eavesdrop a lot and caught him talking to you once on the casino floor. Didn't look like a happy conversation. Also the rumor was rampant among his employees."

Catherine had no idea there were the rumors at Sam's casinos. It bothered her that so many knew, but she put it behind her for the moment and pressed on.

"So what made you decide to start killing innocent families?"

He snorted. "Innocent? None of them were innocent. They all worked for them. They all had ties to them, either doing their dirty work, finances, law work and getting them off charges. They were all guilty of something. They got what they deserved. You work for people who destroy other families lives like mine, I destroy your life."

"But you never really got a big dog, did you now, so why bother?"

"I was heading to New York after this last job here and then I was going to gun for the big dogs." He started coughing as his throat hurt from talking so much.

"Well it looks like your reign of terror is over. See you in court." She motioned for the guard that she was finished.

"Stupid cunt," he grunted as the guard dragged him out.

Catherine sat there for a moment before leaving. She was glad she found out his motives, even though they were still twisted. She figured a family member had to have been killed by someone in the mob. Now she knew the truth.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N- Well this is the end of this story and probably the end of my Catherine/Greg fics for now anyway. My CSI fic is in the works and I will probably start posting it in a couple of weeks. It will be called "Devil's Breath". It will be Greg focused again since he is my favorite even though I do really horrible things to him (I do not know why). LOL You always hurt the ones you love, they say.:)

Anyway, I hope you all really enjoyed this story and based on feedback I might do another sequel to this in the future. Thanks for reading.

* * *

Chapter 31

Catherine's drive home had her mind whirling about just how many people might have known about Sam Braun being her father. She guessed it did not matter too much since he was dead now, although it had mattered to Troy. 

She walked into her house and saw Greg lounging on her sofa watching a Seinfeld rerun. She threw her jacket over a chair.

Greg noticed something off about her demeanor."Hey, where have you been? I thought you would be home when I got here," he asked her, sitting up and putting the TV on mute.

"I just had someplace I had to go," she said sheepishly.

He stared at her seriously now, knowing she was keeping something from him. "You're bothered by something I can tell, what happened?"

She sat down next to him and sighed. "I saw Troy Drye."

Greg nodded his head slowly in understanding. "Oh and I am assuming he said something to upset you."

"He said that most of the casino employees knew I was Sam's daughter and here I thought we kept it pretty quiet," she said somberly.

"So he was trying to rattle you and it seems it worked," he said to her honestly.

"Yeah, but not until he left the room. I didn't let him know it bothered me. He called me a few un-lady like names," she smirked.

"How dare he?" Greg teased. He put his arm around her waist and drew her closer to him.

"He can't hurt us anymore. He's locked up and staying there for life," Greg comforted her.

"Hmm, that Dr. Sandra really did a good job on you.Listen to you now, giving me advice," she teased him.

He shrugged.

"Say, I'm so busy talking about me, how did it go with Grissom?"

Greg groaned. "I liked not talking about me for a change." He frowned.

She sat up, staring at him. "What? Did it not go well?"

"Yeah, horrible! He said I had to be Hodges' gopher for a whole year before I could be on the team again." He tried to stay serious but could not help to grin when he saw her get that ticked off look in her eyes.

She smacked him on the shoulder.

"Ow! That hurts."

"I'll make you hurt more if you don't tell me the truth!"She scowled at him.

"Oh, sounds interesting," he played.

She gave him such a dagger-throwing glare that he fessed up.

"Okay, he said I'd have to be evaluated by a department shrink and as long as they okay me, I can go back."

"That's great. So when is your evaluation?"

"I got one scheduled for December 30th, so in two days."

"That's wonderful. I'm sure it will go fine."

"I hope so." 

She noticed he seemed a bit unsure. She took his hand. "I know it will."

He smiled. "Thanks to your support."

"Anytime," she said to him as she snuggled up to him.

"So about hurting me, like did Lady Heather teach you anything about that?" He gave her a wide-eyed innocent look.

She shook her head in disbelief. "What kind of medication are you on again?"

He flashed one of his killer smiles at her as his hands started traveling under her shirt.

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It was New Years Eve and Greg was nervously biting at his bottom lip waiting for his phone to ring.

Catherine watched him from across the table. He did not want to but she insisted on taking him out to dinner for New Years Eve to make up for not getting him a Christmas present.

"When's he going to call? He's had to receive the report by now. He's purposely torturing me. I should just go down to the lab and find out in person."

She was surprised he was so worked up about it."Greg, he'll call. He's a busy man. Just give him a chance."

"This is my future we are talking about," he told her empathetically.

"Seriously, why are you so worried? I thought you said the evaluation went well."

"Well I thought it did but who knows what that quack thought of me."

She could not help but laugh. 

"Are you laughing at my plight?" He glared at her but a tiny grin was on his lips.

"I guess I am. You are over-reacting."

He sighed. "I guess I'm just worried he might not believe me."

"Why wouldn't he? Do you have reason to doubt yourself?"

"No, not really. I mean do you think I am faking it?"

"No Greg, I don't. I can see the change in you. Your eyes tell me a lot and I've seen the happiness in them again."

"Well you make me happy anyway. You're love is like bad medicine, bad medicine is what I need." He grinned.

"You can't be serious! You are quoting a Bon Jovi song? Now I really am starting to worry about you." She looked at him incredulously.

He started laughing. He was laughing until his phone went off. He looked at it. "It's Grissom."

"Well answer it already," Catherine yelled at him.

He flipped it open. "Sanders."

"Greg, it's Grissom. I heard from Ecklie. He told me your evaluation went well. So you can start back to work on Monday."

Greg tried to contain his excitement. He kept a straight face and an even voice tone. "Thanks for trying to help me, Grissom. I appreciate it."

"So does this mean you will be here Monday evening for work?" Grissom asked him.

"Yes."

"Is Catherine there with you?"

"Yes."

"I see, well once you are done playing your game, I am sure she will be thrilled for you. Congratulations and Happy New Year, Greg. Tell Catherine Happy New Year too." 

"You too, Grissom. Bye!" He closed his phone slowly and she became worried when he did not look happy.

"He didn't give you a pass on your evaluation?"She was flabbergasted.

"Yeah, Grissom says I have to come in Monday night to start working again." A small grin curled on his lips. He could see the fire in her eyes.

"Greg Sanders, if we were not in a public place I would seriously cuss you out right now."

He started cracking up. "Oh and he said Happy New Year."

After a few minutes, she finally spoke to him again."You are lucky I put up with you."

He leaned across the table closer to her, gazing into her eyes, serious. "Yes, I am extremely lucky you do and I only do what I do because I know you will still love me. You don't know how scared I really was when I came to your house Christmas Day. If you had fallen out of love with me, I told myself I would be able to deal with it, but I think I was lying to myself. I would be so lost without you. You make me happy beyond words. There would not have been any happiness in my life anymore. I know that now." His voice filled with emotion.

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She clasped his hand across the table. "You have me. You don't have to worry."

"Good, because I am sick of worrying about things," he smiled at her.

"Me too!" She laughed.

After they finished their meals, Greg stood up and held out his hand to her. "Do you want to dance? It's almost midnight," he said to her.

"You dance? Last dance I saw you do you were wearing a headdress." She asked with a laugh.

"Ha, yeah that. Uh no. Don't let word get out at work but yes I can dance, some."

She followed him to the already crowded dance floor. She was pleasantly surprised at how well he could dance. "Your mom taught you, huh," she mused.

"Years ago, yes but aren't you glad?" She smiled up at him. 

"Yes I am."

The countdown to midnight began. They counted down with everyone until they all yelled, "Happy New Year."

They kissed tenderly and then gazed into each other's eyes lovingly.

"I can start with a fresh slate this year," he said.

"Yeah and my New Year's resolution, stay out of trouble." She grinned.

"Amen to that," he laughed as they clinked their champagne glasses and drank to their future.

the end


End file.
